What Is Inflation Doing to Your Savings? (Free Calculator)

The money sitting in your account buys a little less every year, quietly, without you spending a rupee. That's inflation — and understanding it is the difference between saving and slowly losing ground. Here's what inflation does to your savings.

See the effect for yourself

Enter an amount, an inflation rate and a number of years into the inflation calculator, and it shows how much you'd need in the future to match today's buying power.

Why cash loses value

If inflation runs at 6% a year, something that costs ₹100 today costs about ₹106 next year and ₹179 in ten years. Money kept as idle cash doesn't grow, so its real value shrinks by roughly the inflation rate every year.

The rule of thumb

To simply preserve your buying power, your savings need to grow at least as fast as inflation. Anything earning less than the inflation rate is losing real value, even if the number in your account goes up.

Beating inflation

This is why people invest rather than hoard cash. Compare inflation against potential growth using the compound interest calculator, and model a monthly investing plan with the SIP calculator. (These are estimates, not financial advice — talk to a registered advisor for decisions.)

Related

Keep an emergency buffer safe and liquid; model a fixed deposit with the FD calculator.