Financial
Inflation Calculator
See how purchasing power changes over time at a given inflation rate.
Inputs
Inflation Calculator
Result
Equivalent in 20y
$18,061.11
- Today's buying power then
- $5,536.76
How it's calculated
FV = P · (1 + r)^t
Purchasing power over time
Inflation quietly erodes what a dollar buys. At 3% per year, prices roughly double every 24 years — so $10,000 today has the buying power of about $5,500 in 20 years. This is why cash-heavy portfolios lose ground even when the nominal balance is flat.
Beating inflation
To keep pace, invested returns need to exceed the inflation rate. See the Investment Return Calculator for historical CAGR math and the Compound Interest Calculator for projections.
Related calculators
Financial
Compound Interest Calculator
Project growth of savings with regular contributions and compounding.
Financial
Retirement Calculator
Project your retirement nest egg and monthly income in retirement.
Financial
Mortgage Calculator
Estimate monthly payments, total interest, and full amortization for a home loan.
Financial
Loan Calculator
Monthly payment, interest, and payoff schedule for any fixed-term loan.