05 Level 1 · Purpose · Free lesson

Inflation:the silent tax.

Nobody mails you a bill for it, and it never shows up on a pay stub. But every year, the same dollar buys a little less. Here's how that works, how it's measured, and what it does to money that sits still.

10 slidesInteractiveAbout 25 minutes

Sirloin steak, 1 lb2006 $5.98 → $14.11

Rice, 1 lb2006 $0.55 → $1.12

Bacon, 1 lb2006 $3.44 → $6.76

Potato chips, 16 oz2006 $3.47 → $6.67

Sugar, 1 lb2006 $0.50 → $1.02

Whole chicken, 1 lb2006 $1.05 → $2.06

Choc-chip cookies, 1 lb2006 $2.88 → $5.15

U.S. average prices: 2006 yearly average vs. September 2026. BLS average price data (2006 via officialdata.org).

Education, not personal financial advice. Nothing here tells you what to buy. For your own situation, talk to a licensed fiduciary.

What inflation is

Same cart. Twenty years later. A lot more money.

Inflation means prices across the economy rise over time, so each dollar buys less. Flip between the two receipts: same eight things, real U.S. average prices from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Not everything rose the same. Coffee nearly tripled. Tomatoes barely moved ($1.73 to $1.99 a pound). Inflation is the average across everything people buy, which is why the government tracks a whole basket, not one item.

U.S. average prices

2006 · yearly average

Ground beef, 1 lb$2.22
Coffee, ground, 1 lb$3.20
Whole milk, 1 gal$3.08
Eggs, 1 dozen$1.31
White bread, 1 lb$1.08
Chicken breast, 1 lb$3.30
Bananas, 1 lb$0.50
Regular gas, 10 gal$25.90

TOTAL$40.59

U.S. average prices

September 2026

Ground beef, 1 lb$6.79
Coffee, ground, 1 lb$9.33
Whole milk, 1 gal$4.11
Eggs, 1 dozen$2.27
White bread, 1 lb$1.83
Chicken breast, 1 lb$4.20
Bananas, 1 lb$0.66
Regular gas, 10 gal$44.82

TOTAL$74.01

Same cart cost $40.59 in 2006. +$33.42 (+82%). Gas swings a lot: it was up 34.2% in the 12 months to Sep 2026 alone.

BLS average retail prices, U.S. city average, Sep 2026. 2006 yearly averages from BLS data via officialdata.org. Checked Oct 21, 2026.

How it's measured

The government checks about 80,000 prices a month.

The BLS builds the Consumer Price Index (CPI): the average change in prices for a basket of what people actually buy, from rent to groceries to doctor visits. Each slice counts by how much of the typical budget it takes.

Tap a dot on the basket to see what's in each slice.

Shelter35.5%

Everything else31.5%

Food13.7%

Medical care6.8%

Energy6.3%

Transport6.3%

Weights: BLS relative importance, Nov 2025 (CPI release of Jan 13, 2026). Price count and definition: BLS CPI questions and answers. Checked Oct 21, 2026.

Recent history

It never stops. It just changes speed.

The headline number you hear on the news is the CPI's change over the last 12 months. In 2022 it hit a 40-year high. It cooled, then picked back up in 2026 as gas prices jumped.

3.7% How much prices rose in the 12 months to September 2026.

BLS Consumer Price Index, released Oct 14, 2026

June 2022 (biggest jump since 1981)9.1%

2025, December to December2.7%

September 20263.7%

Yearly average, 1926 to 20262.99%

Inside that 3.7% (12 months to Sep 2026):

Gasoline +34.2% Energy +20.4% Shelter +3.2% Food at home +1.8% Core (no food or energy) +2.6%

BLS CPI releases (Oct 14, 2026 and Jan 13, 2026); BLS, The Economics Daily, Jul 18, 2022; long-run average: officialdata.org (BLS CPI). 12-month changes, not seasonally adjusted.

The long run

Small yearly increases snowball.

From 1926 to 2026, U.S. prices rose about 2.99% a year on average. Sounds tiny. Stack a hundred years of it and the same stuff costs about nineteen times as much.

$19.04 buys today what $1 bought in 1926.

officialdata.org, U.S. inflation since 1926 (BLS CPI), Oct 2026

The Rule of 72

72 ÷ 3 = 24

Divide 72 by a yearly rate to estimate how many years it takes to double. At 3% inflation, prices double in about 24 years.

$100Today

~$200Same cart

Example A shortcut, not a forecast. Exact doubling time at 3% is about 23.4 years. Think about your own age plus 24.

Why it's called a silent tax

It takes buying power without sending a bill.

A tax you can see, you can plan for. This one hides in plain sight, and it hits hardest the money that just sits.

0.38%average savings rate

−

3.7%prices, Sep 2026

≈

−3.3%buying power, per year

FDIC national average savings rate, Oct 2026; BLS CPI, 12 months to Sep 2026. Rate minus inflation is a shortcut; Lesson 6 digs into real returns.

Try it

What your cash buys in 10, 20, 30 years.

Type an amount, pick an inflation rate, and watch what that cash can buy shrink. This is money earning nothing, like cash in a drawer. Example

3% is close to the 2.99% long-run average since 1926. 2% shows a calmer stretch; 4% and 6% show what a hot one does. No one knows future inflation.

Cash today

Inflation rate

$0

Today10 yrs20 yrs30 yrs

A $100 cart in 30 years$0

Prices double in about0 yrs

Example only, in today's dollars. Real inflation changes year to year. "Double" uses the Rule of 72.

Check yourself

Two quick questions. 0 / 2

Your savings account pays 0.38%. Prices rise 3.7% this year. What happened to your money's buying power?

Using the Rule of 72, if prices rise 3% a year, about how long until they double?

Your move

Do these this week.

No buying anything. Just get clear on where your cash sits and what inflation is doing to it.

0%

0 / 5 done

Find your rate. Look up the interest rate (APY) on every account where your cash sits. Write each one down. Compare it to inflation. Subtract the latest CPI number (3.7% for Sep 2026). Below zero means that cash is losing buying power. Run the tool on your own cash. See what it buys in 10, 20 and 30 years at 3%. Check your last raise. Subtract inflation from it to see your raise in real terms. Save the source. Bookmark bls.gov/cpi. The new CPI number comes out every month.

Lesson 05 · Done

Inflation quietly shrinks every dollar that sits still.

Inflation means prices rise, so each dollar buys less. The BLS tracks it with the CPI, about 80,000 prices a month.
Since 1926 it has averaged about 2.99% a year: $1 then buys what $19.04 buys now. At 3%, prices double in about 24 years.
Cash at 0.38% while prices rise 3.7% loses about 3.3% of its buying power a year. That's the silent tax.

Stewardship moment

“Be diligent to know the state of your flocks,
And attend to your herds;
For riches are not forever,
Nor does a crown endure to all generations.”

Proverbs 27:23–24 · NKJV

For this lesson: a good manager knows the real condition of what's in their care. For money, that means knowing what it can actually buy, not just the number on the screen.

This free lesson is one of 20 in EverOwn Wealth Academy, a step-by-step course from first dollar to a written long-term plan.See what's in the full academy →

One-page cheat sheet ↗

Sources (checked Oct 2026)

BLS, Consumer Price Index, September 2026 (released Oct 14, 2026): 3.7% all items; gasoline 34.2%, energy 20.4%, shelter 3.2%, food 2.5%, food at home 1.8%, core 2.6%.

BLS, Consumer Price Index, December 2025 (released Jan 13, 2026): 2.7% for 2025; relative importance weights.

BLS, The Economics Daily (Jul 18, 2022): 9.1% for the year ended June 2022, largest since November 1981.

BLS, CPI questions and answers: what the CPI measures; about 80,000 items priced each month.

BLS, average retail food and energy prices, U.S. city average: September 2026 prices.

officialdata.org, what things cost in 2006: 2006 yearly average prices from BLS data.

officialdata.org, U.S. inflation since 1926 (BLS CPI), updated Oct 14, 2026: about 2.99% a year; $1 in 1926 = $19.04.

FDIC, national rates and rate caps: national average savings rate 0.38% (Oct 2026).

Bible Gateway, Proverbs 27:23–24 (NKJV).

Education, not personal financial advice. Past results don't guarantee future ones. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.