Inflation and Your Money with Fexingo: Protecting Purchasing Power and Beating Inflation

Lucas and Luna examine why wage growth is lagging behind rising prices in 2026. Using the latest CPI data — headline CPI at 334, core CPI at 336 — they show that while inflation has moderated, real wages are still falling. They discuss how the Fed's rate pause at 3.63% is affecting labor markets, and why the gap between price increases and pay raises matters for your personal finances. Plus, they...

On June 16, 2026, gold is up over 6% in the last five days, but gold mining stocks have surged 18%. Lucas and Luna dig into why miners are outpacing the metal itself—operating leverage, falling costs, and a potential catch-up trade. They break down the mechanics with GDX and GLD data, and discuss what it means for inflation hedges going forward. If you've been watching gold rally and wondering whe...

Episode 55 of Inflation and Your Money with Fexingo. Lucas and Luna break down why Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities are surging as CPI stays stubborn. With the 10-year breakeven inflation rate at 2.32% and May CPI rising to 334.0, Lucas explains the mechanics of TIPS and how they outperform conventional bonds when inflation doesn't cool as expected. He walks through a specific example: a $1...

Episode 54 of Inflation and Your Money with Fexingo looks at a surprising winner in this inflation cycle: commodity-linked currencies. Lucas and Luna break down why the Australian dollar, Canadian dollar, and Norwegian krone have outperformed traditional hedges like gold and TIPS so far in 2026. They connect the trend to real-world dynamics—soaring copper and energy exports, central bank rate deci...

Episode 53 of Inflation and Your Money with Fexingo. Lucas and Luna explore how persistent inflation is quietly driving up insurance premiums across auto, home, and health policies. With CPI at 334.0 and core PCE still elevated, insurers are raising rates to cover higher repair costs and medical claims. The hosts break down why your premiums are climbing faster than headline inflation, what the da...

Gold is down 2.7 percent over the past five days, even as CPI and breakeven inflation tick higher. Meanwhile, silver futures are up over 4 percent in the same period. Lucas and Luna dig into what's driving the divergence — industrial demand from solar and EVs, the gold-silver ratio, and whether silver is a smarter inflation hedge right now. They look at the GDX miners ETF rising 1.7 percent while...

Episode 51 dives into the quiet crisis in your emergency fund. With the S&P 500 hitting 7,431 and small caps surging 3.1% in a week, cash yields look tempting at 3.65% from interest on reserve balances. But core CPI at 336.1 means your high-yield savings account is losing ground after taxes. Lucas and Luna break down why 3-6 months of expenses might not be enough anymore, how to size your fund for...

Lucas and Luna examine why traditional bond laddering is losing its inflation protection edge in June 2026. With the 10-year breakeven inflation rate rising to 2.31 percent and the Fed holding rates near 3.63 percent, laddered portfolios of short-term Treasuries are earning negative real returns. The hosts walk through a concrete example: a $50,000 ladder earning 4.2 percent nominal but losing pur...

The Russell 2000 has surged 3.1% in the past week while the S&P 500 barely budged. Lucas and Luna unpack why small-cap stocks are suddenly outperforming their large-cap peers—and what this rotation means for inflation-conscious investors. They examine the Fed's rate pause, the shifting cost-of-capital landscape, and how smaller companies' pricing power is holding up better than expected. Plus: why...

Episode 48 of Inflation and Your Money with Fexingo explores how the SpaceX IPO is reshaping the inflation-hedging landscape. Hosts Lucas and Luna break down why a company tied to launch services and satellite internet is attracting investors who typically buy gold or TIPS. They connect the IPO to the recent divergence between gold prices and mining stocks, the S&P 500's implicit bet on SpaceX, an...

In this episode of Inflation and Your Money, Lucas and Luna look at a surprising trend in the current market: small-cap stocks are outperforming traditional inflation hedges like gold and Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities. With the S&P 500 up only 0.1% over the past week but the Russell 2000 jumping 3.1%, they explore why small caps may be a better bet for protecting purchasing power. They d...

In Episode 46 of Inflation and Your Money, Lucas and Luna explore how the biggest IPO of 2026 — SpaceX's record-setting $75 billion offering — is changing the way investors think about inflation hedges. With gold sliding to a six-month low even as CPI ticks up, the hosts examine why growth stocks and disruptive IPOs are drawing capital away from traditional safe havens. They break down the mechani...

Gold has slumped to a six-month low even as inflation remains stubbornly above the Fed's target. In this episode, Lucas and Luna unpack the paradox: why the traditional inflation hedge is losing its luster. They explore the role of real interest rates, the rising opportunity cost of holding gold, and how the Fed's rate pause is reshaping investor behavior. With the S&P 500 down 1.2% in the past fi...

Episode 44 of Inflation and Your Money with Fexingo zeroes in on a growing pain lurking in the data: the gap between what inflation is doing and what the Fed is doing. With CPI still at 334 and the Fed Funds rate stuck at 3.65 percent, Lucas and Luna break down why the central bank's pause is hitting savers and borrowers asymmetrically. They discuss how the interest on reserve balances (IORB) may...

Episode 43 of Inflation and Your Money with Fexingo. Lucas and Luna examine how persistent but cooling inflation is reshaping the ETF industry. They discuss the shift from growth to value ETFs, the surge in demand for TIPS and commodity funds, and the recent underperformance of popular fixed-income ETFs. Using current data—S&P 500 down 3.4% in five days, gold decline of 4.3%—they explore why inves...

Episode 42 of Inflation and Your Money with Fexingo digs into why rents are climbing at nearly double the rate of headline CPI. Hosts Lucas and Luna examine the April 2026 CPI data—shelter up 5.2% year-over-year while core CPI sits at 3.1%—and explain the structural forces behind the divergence: multifamily construction delays, zoning bottlenecks, and the lag effect in official statistics. They wa...

The stock market is sliding, but dividend stocks are getting hit even harder. The Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF is down more than the S&P 500 over the past week, and gold miners are getting absolutely hammered — the GDX ETF dropped 11.5 percent in five days. Lucas and Luna dig into why income-focused stocks are underperforming in this environment. They break down the mechanics: when the 10-year...

In this episode of Inflation and Your Money, Lucas and Luna dig into a puzzle that's been rattling markets in June 2026: why gold is down nearly 11% in a week even as CPI and PCE show inflation still running above the Fed's target. They look at the real yield story, the carry trade unwind, and what the sell-off says about investor expectations for rate cuts. Lucas brings a specific chart — the cor...

On this episode of Inflation and Your Money with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna break down the hidden costs of holding cash in the current rate environment. With the effective Fed funds rate at 3.63 percent but the 10-year breakeven inflation rate at 2.36 percent, the real return on cash is barely positive – and that's before you factor in the taxes you'll owe on interest earnings. The hosts dig into why...

In this episode of Inflation and Your Money, Lucas and Luna explore how persistent inflation is quietly reshaping portfolio rebalancing strategies. With the S&P 500 at 7,384 and the Nasdaq down 5.1% in the last five days, traditional yearly rebalancing may be leaving investors exposed. The hosts discuss how inflation's uneven impact on sectors—like tech vs. consumer staples—means that rebalancing...

The May jobs report came in hotter than expected, pushing the Fed further from cutting rates. On this episode of Inflation and Your Money, Lucas and Luna break down what the payrolls number means for your wallet, why the bond market is still pricing in cuts despite the data, and how the one-two punch of strong employment and sticky inflation is reshaping everything from your mortgage rate to your...

In this episode of Inflation and Your Money, Lucas and Luna discuss the real cost of holding uninvested cash in a high-inflation environment. With the Fed funds rate at 3.62 percent but CPI still running above 3 percent, many savers are losing purchasing power even in high-yield savings accounts. They examine the gap between nominal returns and real returns, using current data showing a 2.36 perce...

Lucas and Luna dig into a surprising effect of the Fed's interest rate pause: even with CPI still elevated at 332.4 and 10-year breakeven inflation at 2.36%, the effective federal funds rate has dipped slightly to 3.63%. That small move is already squeezing savers. The hosts walk through how high-yield savings account rates have started to drift lower, why banks are cutting deposit rates faster th...

In this episode of Inflation and Your Money with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore a counterintuitive inflation hedge that most people overlook: your own human capital. Drawing on the May 2026 hot jobs report and the Fed's indication that rate cuts remain distant, they argue that the ability to earn, upskill, and renegotiate income is the single most powerful tool against rising prices. Lucas cites...

Inflation has been cooling—CPI is at 332.4, core PCE at 129.6—but hospital prices are still climbing at 4% annually. Lucas and Luna examine why medical inflation refuses to follow the broader trend, focusing on the role of private equity roll-ups in hospital systems and the opaque chargemaster pricing that lets hospitals boost charges even when input costs are stable. Using data from the latest CP...