Hello Reader,

I like to think I pay pretty close attention to things like inflation.

But it floored me recently when I found out inflation over the last six years has been 28%.

I’ll repeat that for everyone in the back. 28%.

Yup, that’s correct. Not a typo. You can check it out for yourself here.​

That’s kind of nuts.

We tend to think of inflation as background noise — a little high one year, a little low the next, mostly irrelevant to the actual decisions we’re making.

But 28% over six years is not background noise.

Here’s what it actually means:

If you priced your services in March 2020 and haven’t revisited them, you’re not earning what you thought you were. You’re earning roughly 80 cents on the dollar — in real purchasing power — compared to what you set out to make.

Or think about it this way: $100,000 sitting in a savings account since then hasn’t stayed $100,000. In terms of what it can actually buy today, it’s closer to $78,000.

That’s not a catastrophe. But it’s not nothing, either.

Two things worth sitting with:

If you have any control over your fees, it’s worth asking: when did I last look at this? A 28% inflation adjustment over six years works out to less than 5% per year — not aggressive, not greedy, just keeping pace with reality.

And if you’re insurance-only and don’t have that lever, it matters even more that your investments are doing the work inflation can’t do for you.

⏳ Join us Friday: Retirement Planning for Therapists & Practice Owners

This is exactly why Julie and I are hosting a webinar this Friday morning.

Not a sales pitch. Just two people who spend a lot of time thinking about this, walking through what actually matters — which plans make sense, how to think about the future you you’re trying to take care of, and how to make progress even if you feel behind.

​Register here for this Friday’s Retirement Webinar!​

Can’t make it live? No problem. We’ll send the recording afterward, so you’ll have it either way.

This is worth an hour of your time.

Best,
Dave