About InflationTools

What InflationTools Does

InflationTools helps individuals pursuing Financial Independence and Early Retirement (FIRE) build projections grounded in real economic data. Most retirement calculators use a fixed inflation assumption — typically 2–3% — that hasn't reflected reality for much of the past decade. We source live CPI figures directly from official databases and apply them to your numbers so your plan accounts for actual purchasing-power erosion.

Our tools calculate your FIRE number, project your portfolio year by year, and show how inflation shifts your target over time — giving you a clearer picture of what it will truly cost to retire and stay retired.

Why We Use the FRED API

The Federal Reserve Economic Database (FRED), maintained by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, is the gold standard for U.S. macroeconomic time-series data. It provides free, programmatic access to thousands of official series — including CPI, the Fed Funds Rate, PCE inflation, and more — updated on a regular publication schedule.

Using FRED means our inflation figures come directly from the source, not from a third-party aggregator that might lag, round, or misclassify the data. When you see a number on InflationTools, you can trace it back to the same series the Federal Reserve itself publishes.

Data Sources

FRED — Federal Reserve Economic Data

Provides our primary inflation series (CPIAUCSL — Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers) and the Federal Funds Effective Rate (FEDFUNDS). Published by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
fred.stlouisfed.org

BLS — Bureau of Labor Statistics

The BLS is the primary agency that compiles and publishes Consumer Price Index data in the United States. FRED sources its CPI series from BLS releases, giving us an unbroken chain of provenance from the survey to your calculator.
bls.gov

Federal Reserve

Monetary policy decisions and interest rate data come from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The Fed Funds Rate shown on our homepage reflects the most recently published effective rate from FRED series FEDFUNDS.
federalreserve.gov

Disclaimer

InflationTools is an educational resource only. Nothing on this site constitutes financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. The calculators and projections are illustrative tools designed to help you think through retirement scenarios — they are not a substitute for personalized advice from a qualified financial professional.

All projections involve assumptions that may not reflect future market conditions. Past inflation rates are not a guarantee of future inflation. Investment returns shown are hypothetical and do not account for taxes, fees, or individual circumstances. Always consult a licensed financial advisor before making retirement or investment decisions.