Inflation calculator

Two ways to read the result

The future cost tells you what you would need to spend later for the same thing. The buying power figure tells you what today's amount would be worth in future terms — the same fact viewed from the other end.

Both matter for different questions. Future cost is for planning a purchase; buying power is for judging whether a savings target set years ago is still adequate.

Where this actually changes decisions

• A savings goal set for a purchase several years out needs to be sized in future money, not today's.
• A fixed nominal income declines in real terms every year it is not increased.
• Cash held for a long horizon loses buying power even while the balance is unchanged.
• A long-term projection in nominal terms overstates what you will actually be able to buy.

Choosing a rate

Use a long-run figure rather than the current headline rate, which reflects recent conditions rather than a multi-year average. Inflation varies by country and by what you personally buy — housing, energy, and food often move differently from the general index.

Running two or three scenarios is more informative than one precise-looking figure, because the point is the range rather than a prediction.

What it does not model

Your personal inflation rate, which depends on what you buy. Wage growth, which may or may not keep pace. And any change in the rate over the period — it applies one constant figure throughout.