What $1,000 Bought You in 2006 vs. Now

Well hellooo!!!

So the other day inflation got an update! It actually went down from 3.8% to 3.4%. So looks like it went down 0.4%!

Regardless of how much inflation goes down, it’s still annoying. Things are slowly getting more expensive and you don't usually feel the REAL effects of inflation until you look back at the damage it’s done over decades.

Real quick, let’s see what $1,000 could buy in 2006 vs 2026

What $1,000 bought you in 2006 vs. 2026

Do you see the last line??

That’s the biggest thing here that blows my mind ‘til this day.

Everything got more expensive, but our banks interest rates NEVER moved???

This’ll Blow Your Mind

So inflation is sitting at 3.4% right now. These banks (like Chase, Wells Fargo, BoA, Navy Fed) are paying you 0.01% per year. 

That means your money would have to SIT in that account for 340 years just to keep up with ONE single year of inflation. 😩🤯💔

THREE HUNDRED AND FORTY YEARS!!!!

You will not be alive!!!! Your kids will not be alive!!!!! Their kids will not be alive!!!!! And your money still won't have caught up with one single year of inflation.

Now imagine if you’ve been in one of those banks for 10 years… 💀

The gap between what things cost and what your money earns keeps getting wider and wider. No wonder we all feel like we’re broke…

The really shitty part is, we’re finally reaching a point where the gap has become so wide that it’s extremely noticeable. We don’t make enough money and things are only getting more expensive. Not a good mix…

This is called losing purchasing power. It sounds boring, but the $10,000 sitting in a Chase account today will feel like less money next year. And less the year after.

So there’s 2 routes we need to take…

Route One: The High Yield Savings Account

The first fix is the simplest one. Move your money to a High Yield Savings Account.

The best HYSAs right now are paying around 3.50% - 4.50% APY. And what was inflation again??? 3.4%!!!

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see that. With just that switch, now you maintain inflation.

For the love of God, here's a list I made of High Yields CLICK HERE

Route Two: The Stock Market

Now this is territory we haven’t touched yet in this newsletter, but I think it’s about time we start inching our way there 🤭

You need to start investing. No matter your age.

Investing is the ONLY way to double the rate of inflation every year.

The average responsible investor makes a 7-10% return on their money when invested correctly. It is not that complicated.

- You open a brokerage account. HERE ARE A BUNCH OF FREE ONES (I like Robinhood)
- Link your bank to the account so you can transfer money
- Transfer money and invest it into the S&P 500  $SPY ( ▲ 0.7% )  
- Close the app and walk away

The S&P 500 is the fancy term that the stock market uses for the top 500 companies in the world.

Once you invest in the S&P 500, you get a piece of all top 500 companies in the world. It has averaged around 10% annual returns since 1928. That's nearly three times what inflation is doing right now and EVEN HIGHER than High Yield Savings Accounts!

You don't need a lot to start. You could do what I like to call “Micro-investing,” which is where you invest tiny amounts every week. $10/week or $5 every couple of days. The amount matters less than the habit.

Remember, the name of the game is to BEAT INFLATION. That’s it.

Extremely easy… Stack gets paid and has all of his DAY TO DAY money in his little High Yield Savings Account ☺️

Every Wednesday, he decides to throw any amount under $10 in the stock market!

Every day inflation is hitting him, but he makes sure that everyday he defends himself against it :)

Go be a Responsible Adult, my friend ❤️

Mikey (& Stack 🦥)