David1961
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2007
- Messages
- 1,085
How many people here calculate what their personal inflation rate is? I'm looking for ideas on how to do this. I have a spreadsheet where I have my monthly expenses listed since 1998. Then I add a column that calculates the expenses for the previous 12 months. Overall, it has increased (no surprise there). But, for instance, if I compare the 12 month period ending August 2012, I have a positive inflation rate and if I compare for the 12 month period ending Sept 2012, I have a negative inflation rate. So I'd assume that my personal inflation rate is near zero for the past year. Is it better to just look at the past year, or go back many more years? Is there a formula in Excel that will take the monthly totals and calculate my "net inflation rate" since 1998? Does this seem like an accurate approach?
Another complication is when I make a major purchase, like a car, it dramatically increases my "inflation rate" for that year even though in my opinion this is not really inflation. Maybe the best way is to spread out the price of the car over the course of several years so the monthly totals
Another complication is when I make a major purchase, like a car, it dramatically increases my "inflation rate" for that year even though in my opinion this is not really inflation. Maybe the best way is to spread out the price of the car over the course of several years so the monthly totals