The Top 5 Biggest Victims Of Inflation

Inflation is an ugly and secret tax we are subjected to when the Federal Reserve prints money out of thin air. 

Christians are punished for saving money instead rewarded. 

This tax impacts segments of our economy worse than others. Most often, the financial sector, Wall Street, and the wealthy are impacted the least. 

Here are the top 5 biggest victims of inflation in no particular order: 

#1: Seniors And Retired Workers

Seniors who can no longer work are among the biggest victims of inflation by far. While others are certainly impacted, young people have the opportunity to work and dig themselves out of a hole. 

This is not the case for retirees. 

It's popular among Millennials to point out how much greater the net worth of "boomers" and the elderly is... but those numbers can be misleading. 

Below is an infographic from the VisualCapitalist.com detailing the median asset allocation of each age group: 

Yes... $956,00 sounds great. But there are a few problems with this. 

• Seniors cannot work again if a recession wipes out their investment accounts. 
• Americans are living longer and their retirement plans do not account for the additional years of expenses. 
• Far too many count their house as an asset on their balance sheet when planning for retirement... Unless you are planning on selling that house for cash, your home does not offer you any income when you're retired. 

In our opinion, one of the worst things about inflation is how it erases the time and working years of middle-aged workers and seniors. 

#2: Students

Hot take: High schools and colleges are failing young students. 

Students are pressured to attend a four-year college or university and assume massive amounts of debt... with no real plan on how to pay it back. 

And the price of college is skyrocketing... faster than the rate of inflation. 

(Source: My eLearning World)

Students are starting their adult lives with tens of thousands of dollars in debt, degrees that are worth less each year, and fewer practical skills. 

#3: First Time Homebuyers

Home prices are increasing (although the Fed's recent rate hike may change this) dramatically and preventing young people from buying their first home. 

First time homebuyers must either:

• Overpay for their home purchase 
• Stop searching for a home and continue renting 
• Assume an expensive or borderline irresponsible mortgage

Here is a graph from the St. Louis Federal Reserve branch showing how the median sales price of homes in the United States has blown up. 

Homeownership is becoming a distant hope for too many Americans. While increased home values are great for existing homeowners, creating a generation of 'forever renters' is not healthy for our economy. 

#4 The Poor And Working Class

Inflation hits the poor and working-class the hardest. 

High income earners may not notice a $1 increase in the price of gas or their groceries costing more. 

But those making $15/hr, single-income households, blue-collar workers, and those making less than $100,000 a year feel the sting of inflation a great deal more. 

A worker making $50,000 who is wrestling with a 10%+ increase in food, 50%+ in energy, and 5%+ increase in housing suffers from inflation every day. These costs are a serious bite out of their monthly budget. 

Oftentimes, men and women simply assume credit card debt in order to make the bills each month. 

#5 The Average American

The average American does not have the savings on hand to survive a financial crisis. Inflation compounds this problem by erasing how much Americans are able to save. 

Here is a chart from the Federal Reserve and ValuePenguin detailing the average bank balance of Americans by age and income: 

Naturally, Americans are turning toward debt to solve their savings and expenses problem: 

(Source: LendingTree & New York Fed)

Credit card debt did dip briefly during the Pandemic when stimulus checks were distributed. But it's begun another spike as inflation has reared its ugly head. 

Christians ought to embrace Sound Money as a method to escape the madness of the Federal Reserve's inflation.