Reality of a shrinking dollar

Let's take a $1 bill. If it were to physically shrink a $1 bill at the same rate as the dollar ...  More »

Let's take a $1 bill. If it were to physically shrink a $1 bill at the same rate as the dollar has for the past 20 years - from 1990 until February 2010 - it would look drastically different. In comparison, 17 1990 $1 bills would take to purchase one $10 item in 2010. The US dollar used to lead the pack in world currency. You used to be able to bargain shop in Canada, but now it's pretty much even. The Euro trumps the US dollar now by about $.39. So what would take a $20 item in America to purchase costs an Italian an estimated $14 E. So why should all this matter to you? It affects your investments. You would have had to make over 3.5-percent annually for the last 20 years just to keep up with the depriciation of the dollar and cost of living increases. Credit Deposits aren't even making that much right now, either. So it's tough to make money, with US currency on the decline, but it's not impossible.  « Less