With all the talk about inflation, have you ever wondered what your personal inflation rate is? Or the personal inflation rate for the average American? 

Thanks to the Financial Times for creating this interactive to break the inflation rate into its budget components (e.g., rent, transportation, food). 

Here's the set-up (note that the inflationary figures are regularly updated): 

Features of the interactive:

• Includes data for U.S., Japan and UK
• Allows user to adjust Max slider value with $2,000 as defauit
• Detailed methodology provided below the interactive

A few activity ideas: 

• Use the default amounts provided and compare inflation rates across the three countries. Be sure to look at the Y-axis scale when comparing.
  • Based on the latest statistics, how would you rank the countries from highest to lowest national inflation rates? 
•  Identify the 5 largest budget categories. Then move the slider to the right (increasing cost) for each one individually and see the impact on the personal inflation rate. 
  • Which of the five budget categories seems to have the greatest impact on a personal inflation rate? 
• As you look at these five budget categories, which ones do you think you have the most control over in terms of finding substitutes or doing without? For example, since you tend to have annual leases when you rent an apartment/home, you don't have control to reduce that cost until your lease is up.

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Send more ideas you have to tim@ngpf.org and I'd be happy to add them to this post with credit.

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.