What Is Inflation?

Inflation can be a detriment to any early retirement plan. At first, you may think you only need a certain amount of money to retire, and maybe you’re adjusting for inflation when you do these calculations. But what happens when inflation runs more than triple the average or crosses into double-digit numbers. How does your investment strategy change? How does your “dream retirement” come true when it costs ten percent more than you originally accounted for?

These are all questions that average Americans are asking themselves: when can I retire? Can I retire? How can I afford food or gas or pay my bills? Although we can’t solely blame high inflation on the Federal Reserve, we can see how their policies lead to the situation we’re in now. Someone who stood up against the policies of quantitative easing and massive stimulus packages, is former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Tom Hoenig. 

Tom was in favor of quantitative easing back at the start of the great recession, but as this power to pump more money into the economy started to get abused, he rallied against the choice of the fed. Today, Mindy and Scott use this episode to ask Tom the hard-hitting questions that average investors want answered so they can make the best financial moves possible while still building wealth. 

In This Episode We Cover

The rampant inflation of the 1980s and how it affects Fed policy to this day

Quantitative easing explained and how it artificially inflates asset prices

How asset values and price inflation go hand in hand 

The goal of the Federal Reserve and how many of their policies have backfired 

Whether or not the 4% rule still stands true in an inflationary environment 

What a “good” unemployment rate looks like and how it maps the health of the economy

How investors can prepare to take advantage of times of economic uncertainty and high inflation 

And So Much More!

Links from the Show

BiggerPockets Money Facebook Group

BiggerPockets Forums

Finance Review Guest Onboarding

Scott's Instagram

Mindy's Twitter

Apply to Be a Guest on The Money Show

Podcast Talent Search!

What Every Investor Should Understand About Inflation

How the Unemployment Rate Affects Us All (Yes, Even the Employed)

The Fed’s Doomsday Prophet Has a Dire Warning About Where We’re Headed

Tom Hoenig on Wikipedia

Check the full show notes here: https://biggerpockets.com/blog/money-281

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