Inflation

The changes to what we pay for the goods and services we buy do not increase by the same rate every year; some years they go up slowly, some years they jump up, and some years the cost of certain goods or services even goes down.  However, the longer-term trend is that the cost of the goods and services we purchase to live our lives is increasing.  For most items that historic increase is around 3% annually.  However, healthcare costs have been rising much faster over the past 40 years, with many estimates falling in the 6% to 8%+ per…