Remember when your grandpa told you he bought his first car for the price of a nice dinner today? Yeah, that wasn't a flex, that was inflation doing its thing.
The 70s called — they want their inflation back 📞
Back in 1970, you could snag a brand new car for $3,400. By 1980? That same ride cost $7,200. Houses went absolutely bonkers too — jumping from $23,000 to $64,000 in a single decade. Your dollar literally got cut in half. Ouch.
Fast forward to today and... record scratch ...here we go again.
Since 2020, our beloved greenback has already lost 25% of its swagger. Houses jumped from $350K to $500K faster than you can say "avocado toast," gas doubled, and don't even get me started on egg prices (seriously, who knew chickens were this expensive to maintain?).
But wait, there's more! 📺
Some tea leaves are suggesting inflation might be gearing up for round two. Let's break it down:
🏠 Housing: The sleeping giant that's... still sleeping
Good news: housing isn't about to wreck the party again. High mortgage rates have basically put the real estate market in a medically induced coma. Sales are so low that they make 2008 look like a block party. Until people can actually afford houses again, this giant stays napping.
⛽ Food & Energy: The plot twist nobody saw coming
Remember when gas and groceries sent inflation to the moon in 2021-2022? Well, oil supplies are actually looking pretty chill right now. U.S. production is hitting record highs while China's basically shrugging at oil demand.
Translation: no immediate energy shock incoming (knock on wood).
📦 Everything Else: The usual suspects are behaving
The pandemic's greatest hits that drove inflation crazy?
Supply chains falling apart ✅ (fixed)
Money printer going brrrr ✅ (turned off)
Everyone and their mom is getting hired ✅ (cooling down)
Yeah, none of that's happening right now.
🚨 Plot twist: Enter the tariff villain
Here's where it gets spicy. Since February, U.S. tariff revenue has tripled from $7.7B to $26B. That's a lot of extra costs that businesses are paying — and guess who they're planning to pass those costs to?
Spoiler alert: it's you.
Companies are already feeling the squeeze (the ISM Prices Paid Index is going parabolic), and historically, when businesses hurt, consumers hurt harder.
The bottom line? 📊
We're not talking 1970s-style "holy crap everything costs 10x more" inflation. But those tariffs might push us above 3% by year-end, which could make Treasury bonds sweat and stocks get a little jittery.
The good news? Once the tariff hangover wears off, inflation should chill out again. It could even be a nice tailwind for your portfolio.
TL;DR: Inflation's not dead, just taking a power nap. Tariffs might wake it up temporarily, but it's probably going back to sleep soon.
Keep your eyes on those CPI reports — because even small moves can make big waves in markets that are basically running on vibes and caffeine these days.
That's your 5-minute inflation reality check. Now go forth and make financially responsible decisions (or don't, we're a newsletter, not your financial advisor).