The Fed says inflation is running 2 to 3 percent. The checkout counter says otherwise. This week we close the gap between the number they report and the number you live — where inflation is actually coming from, why prices are never going back down, and the four levers retirees can pull to fight the affordability squeeze.
 
On this week's Money On Tap, we start with the distinction that changes everything: inflation is the rate at which prices rise, but affordability is the level of prices you have to live with — and when $100 becomes $125, a "cooling" inflation rate just means the new price grows slower. We follow the money to where the pressure really comes from: oil, the one commodity in every leg of the delivery chain (with diesel up roughly 24%); shelter costs that stack rent, insurance, property taxes, maintenance, and utilities; shrinkflation's not-quite-a-gallon gallon; tariffs that raised prices which never came back down; and healthcare — the retirement inflation almost nobody prices, from Medicare premiums to long-term care that can run five figures a month after Medicare steps away. Then we get practical: what inflation rate to actually stress-test your plan against, and the four ways to fight back — the right equities, bonds honestly reconsidered, annuities for the problem they truly solve, and the most powerful lever of all, tax mitigation.
 
What you'll learn:

• Inflation vs. affordability — why "rates are cooling" never means prices are coming down
• Watch the barrel: why oil is the truest inflation gauge in your life
• What retirees actually buy — and how much of it the CPI undercounts
• Shrinkflation: the quiet second tax at the same sticker price
• How tariffs raised prices that stayed raised
• Healthcare as retirement inflation: premiums, prescriptions, and the long-term care cliff
• What inflation rate to stress-test your plan against (hint: not 2–3%)
• Lever 1 — the right equities: pricing power, free cash flow, low debt, real dividends
• Lever 2 — bonds reconsidered: the 4–5% risk-free window, and what rate cuts would do
• Lever 3 — annuities and longevity risk: guaranteed income pays the bills, the portfolio fights inflation
• Lever 4 — tax mitigation: keeping more of every distribution at century-low rates

Plus Money In The News:

• 401(k) savers set records — balances up 10.5% in Q2, but a fifth of participants carry loans
• Inside Apple's first launch event under its new CEO: the $1,999 foldable iPhone and "personal intelligence"
• The AI boom and tariff uncertainty push copper to record highs

Want this week's white paper — seven things retirees can actually do about inflation? Email us at [email protected] and we'll send it over.
 
Read our most recent Blog Post on this topic here: https://www.fmgwebsites.com/d772de05-9833-44e4-9676-f510f85cef74/blog/inflation-isnt-dead-where-its-coming-from-and-how-retirees-fight-back
Schedule a free consultation: https://app.greminders.com/t/9f3ce72e/initialconsulta
Browse the full Money On Tap library: https://www.brayshawfinancial.com/money-on-tap
 
Contact Us

• Phone: 855-226-8551
• Email: [email protected]
• Office: 116 South River Road, Bedford, NH 03110
• Web: brayshawfinancial.com

Securities and advisory services offered through Osaic Wealth, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. All other services offered through Brayshaw Financial Group, LLC are independent of Osaic Wealth, Inc. Osaic Wealth, Inc. and Brayshaw Financial Group do not provide tax or legal advice. Annuity guarantees are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurer. Figures cited are approximate as of the air date, drawn from sources believed reliable, and subject to change; alternative inflation measures are unofficial. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

• Should I lend money to a family member?
  Only after you've secured your own oxygen mask. Before helping anyone, confirm your own financial stability: your retirement income need, your healthcare runway, and your spouse's full agreement. Then ask whether this is a one-time emergency or a recurring pattern, and choose the form deliberately — a gift, a documented loan, a matched contribution, or a payment made directly to the vendor. Avoid funding help from retirement accounts, where taxes, early-withdrawal penalties, and lost compounding can double the cost. And if you do lend, follow the oldest advice on family money: never lend what you aren't prepared to never see again.