Last June, inflation hit a 40-year high of 9.1%. Since then, it's been falling month over month

with headline annual inflation hitting 3.2% this July. The Fed's aggressive rate hikes seem to be doing their job,

and their 2% inflation target appeared to finally be in sight. But then the August CPI report came out a few

weeks ago and we saw inflation spike jumping up to 3.7%. So what happened? Where does

inflation go from here? And should we be worried about a double bump in inflation like we saw

in the 70s? Welcome to the Stay Healthy podcast. I'm your host, Taylor Schulte, and today I'm diving into the details of the recent

CPI reports to help provide some perspective on inflation and where we might be headed.

To grab the links and resources mentioned, just head over to you staywealthy.com forward slash

200.

As a refresherher inflation refers to the rise in prices for goods and services 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.

As a result, us consumers either have to find a way to make more money or find a way to spend less.

Now, some inflation year over year, is healthy and expected.

But unexpected, skyrocketing inflation or high prolonged inflation can cause some serious economic harm.

And that's precisely why the spike in inflation in recent years has been making headlines.

Everyone, including the Fed, has been nervous about higher than average inflation and the damage it can do if it's not contained.

Hence, why they've rapidly raised interest rates in an

attempt to inject some pain into the economy and slow things down. 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,

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