Why Inflation Exists

And How Smart Investors Use It

In partnership with

Let’s talk about inflation.

Not the doom-scroll version. Not the political version.
Just what it actually is, why it exists, and how to use it instead of fear it.

Because here’s the reality:

Inflation isn’t inherently bad. If you understand how it works, you can use it to your advantage — especially with debt.

But before we get to the strategy, we need to understand the system we’re operating in.

What Inflation Actually Is

Inflation is the slow rise in prices over time.
Or, in plain English:

Your dollar buys a little less each year.

This happens for two broad reasons:

1. Things We Can’t Control

  • Supply shocks

  • Wars

  • Natural disasters

  • Commodity spikes

  • Labor shortages

These force prices up because supply is limited.

2. Things We Choose (Economic Policy)

  • Money creation

  • Interest rate changes

  • Fiscal spending

  • Credit expansion

These are intentional tools.
Inflation is not a mistake — it’s a design feature of a modern economy.

And contrary to popular belief, a little inflation is good.

Let’s explore why.

Why the Right Amount of Inflation Helps the Economy

People think inflation is a monster. But inflation only becomes a monster at the extremes.

Here’s how the system behaves at different levels:

Example #1: No Inflation (The Frozen Economy)

Imagine the number of dollars in circulation never changed.

Economics becomes a zero-sum game—if you want an extra dollar, you have to take it from someone else.

Money becomes scarce.
People hoard it because it’s hard to get back.

As a result:

  • Spending slows

  • Investing slows

  • Productivity slows

You buy nothing that isn’t essential.
This is a deflationary spiral—an economy becoming brittle.

Example #2: Moderate Inflation (The Health Middle)

This is the world we want.

Money loses value slowly.
It doesn’t make sense to hoard it.
So you spend it intelligently.

Money circulates.
Jobs are created.
Growth happens.

Businesses invest.
New money enters the system as productivity grows.
The economy stays dynamic instead of stagnant.

A little inflation creates healthy movement.

Example #3: High Inflation (The Panic Zone)

This is the nightmare version.

Money loses value rapidly.
People race to spend it.
Savings evaporate.
Trust in the currency collapses.

This is the Weimar / Argentina / Venezuela zone.

The U.S.—with all its flaws—is nowhere near this.

How Inflation Quietly Pushes People Toward Debt

Here’s where your understanding becomes power:

Inflation makes borrowing attractive.

If a dollar will be worth less in the future, then:

  • You borrow in today’s strong dollars

  • You repay in tomorrow’s weaker dollars

Inflation erodes the real cost of debt.

This is why debt is a feature, not a bug, of the modern financial system.

It’s why:

  • Mortgages

  • Business loans

  • Real estate

  • Student loans

  • Leveraged investing

…can all be extremely powerful wealth-building tools.

You lock in an asset at today’s price — and inflation helps pay it down.

Once you understand inflation, debt becomes a lever rather than a threat.

But like any lever, it can swing too far.

The Dark Side of Debt

Debt is an obligation.
You make the monthly payments, or you lose the asset.
Simple as that.

The more debt you take on, the less nimble you become.
Every dollar of obligation reduces your optionality.

And when volatility hits, debt introduces the possibility of losing everything.

Ray Dalio explains this perfectly in Big Debt Crises:

  • The economy slows down

  • Your asset produces less income than usual

  • You can’t cover the debt payments

  • You’re forced to sell assets to stay afloat

  • Selling pushes prices down even further

This is how people get wiped out — not because debt is evil, but because they used too much of it.

So should you avoid debt completely?

No.

It just means you must use it wisely.

Which brings us to the strategy.

How to Use Inflation to Your Advantage

Here’s how you harness the system instead of getting crushed by it:

  • Hold productive assets

  • Use long-term fixed-rate debt

  • Let inflation quietly erode your liabilities

  • Keep monthly payments low enough that you can breathe

  • Never lever yourself to the point where a downturn wipes you out

This is exactly how wealthy families, real estate investors, and business owners build wealth across generations.

Inflation is not the enemy.
Misunderstanding inflation is.

Where Does Bitcoin Come Into Play?

I’ll be honest: I don’t like Bitcoin for the same reason I don’t like gold.

It isn’t a productive asset.

It doesn’t generate income.
It doesn’t produce anything.
It just sits there.

That said, people keep asking me my opinion on it — so I’ve started genuinely researching it.

And here’s what I’ll admit:

Bitcoin fits into this inflation-and-debt conversation more neatly than I expected.

Its fixed supply stands in direct contrast to a system built on expanding credit, inflation, and the erosion of purchasing power.

There’s something interesting there.
Something worth exploring.

And that’s exactly where we’ll go in the next edition.

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