Welcome to the Stay Welfy Podcast. I'm your host, Taylor Schulte, and today I'm addressing the January inflation report. In fact, as you might have seen, and contrary to expectations, inflation ticked up last month.

Specifically, the consumer price index rose 0.5% in January after only increasing 0.1% in December.

So why are prices increasing again? Was the report positive or negative? And what does this mean for the long-term trend for inflation?

I'm answering these questions today and we even have a special

guest that drops by to share a few of his thoughts. For all the links and resources mentioned

today, just head over to you staywealthy.com forward slash 180.

Inflation refers to the rise in prices and it's important to monitor because the higher prices

rise, the more our purchasing power declines. In other words, it takes more of our dollars to

buy that same gallon of milk or take that same vacation. And as a result, us consumers have to either

earn more money or find a way to spend

less. Now, some inflation year over year is healthy and it's expected. But unexpected,

skyrocketing inflation or high prolonged inflation can cause some serious economic harm. And that's

precisely why the recent spike in

inflation has been making headlines for the last couple of years. Everyone, including the Fed,

is nervous about higher than average inflation and the damage it can do if it's not contained.

I've covered inflation extensively on the podcast in recent years, but as a reminder, inflation reports,

also known as CPI reports, they come out monthly. CPI stands for Consumer Price Index,

and this index is measuring the monthly change in prices for things that everyday consumers

are purchasing, food, energy, vehicles, shelter, etc.

If all of these things become more expensive month over month, the CPI report will conclude

that inflation is on the rise.

Now, to be extra clear, when we see a spike in prices month over month, it doesn't mean that those prices are going to

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