Is Your Money Keeping Up With Inflation?

In today’s unpredictable planetary economy, you obviously never cognize what is going to go on next. Uncertainties and concerns regarding the Iraki threat, North Korean crisis, and concealed terrorist cells and webs go on to loom in the dorsum of the heads of consumers. Moreover, the stock markets and industries around the world.

Price rising prices is another major concern for everyone. The up-to-the-minute Consumer Price Index (CPI) number released by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Agency of Labor Statistics states that prices, inch all U.S. cities, are up 0.1% in the calendar month of December for the calendar twelvemonth of 2002. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a programme that bring forths monthly information on changes in the terms paid by urban consumers for a representative handbasket of commodity and services. Furthermore, the national unemployment rate goes on to stay steady at 6.0% for the calendar month of December 2002. Believe it or not, this may not be as bad as it sounds.

Economic theory suggests that an addition in the rising prices rate will lead to a lessening in the national unemployment rate. But since the unemployment rate is currently 6.0%, this may also suggest that in order for this rate to eventually decrease, we should anticipate more than rising prices in the future. The recent upsurge in oil terms together with cherished metallic elements back ups this theory and may also be a intimation of what’s to come.

Well, it looks that you probably can’t avoid inflation, but there are definitely chances that you can take advantage of, in order to maintain up with it. One option might be to see depositing your money into a nest egg account rather than a money market account. Most major banks are currently yielding an Annual Percentage Output (APY) that ranges from 0.5% to 0.75%. Even though this is pretty low, it is higher than what most money market accounts are currently offering.

One of the best rates that I have got recently seen is ING Direct’s offering of 2.25% APY for their Orange Savings Account. But if these rates are not what you are looking for, see investment in the stock market. With the up-to-the-minute downswing in the economy, shares are pretty cheap and going fast. There are now many online brokerages that allow consumers to purchase pillory for a small fee. For instance, Sharebuilder allows consumers put for as small as $4. However, delight be wary, this investing option is a greater hazard so you should confer with with a financial advisor before taking this step.

Whether you take to set your money in these investing chances or not, it is up to you. But just retrieve that if you don’t, you are actually losing money because the “purchasing power” of your dollar is decreasing as the rising prices rate is increasing.