What's my real inflation rate?
CPI is the average across all US consumers. Your spending basket isn't average. Build it line by line and see your real number — usually 1-3 percentage points off the headline.
How the math works
Personal inflation is a weighted sum:
πpersonal = Σ (wi × πi)
where wi is your share of spending in category i, and πi is that category's inflation rate. The CPI uses the population's average weights; you have your own.
Why this gap is large: CPI weights ~33% to housing. A renter in a hot market may run 50%+ in housing. CPI weights ~9% to medical care. A retiree may run 18%+. The headline 3% inflation can hide a 5-6% personal rate or a 1.5% one, depending on where your money goes.
Default category inflation rates use the most recent 12-month BLS CPI breakdown (housing ~5%, food ~3%, healthcare ~5%, transportation ~3%, electronics deflationary). Override any category based on your local market — rent in your specific city, your specific health-plan premium, your specific tuition trajectory.
Output: your personal annual inflation rate, plus the multi-year future cost of maintaining your current lifestyle.
Math runs locally. Inputs never leave your browser. Source on github.
Real-world scenarios
- Why CPI 2.5% might mean 4-6% for you — building a personal basket: who runs above CPI (renters, urban dwellers, healthcare-heavy), who runs below (homeowners, electronics-heavy).
- Food at 15% while CPI says 3%: what averaging hides — food inflation hits low-income households 3× harder because grocery share of budget is 3× larger.