How To Cushion Yourself Against Inflation

The biggest problem facing you when you plan your retirement fund - or start taking the money - is inflation. You may have fallen for government statistics that show inflation is low. Don't believe it! The official figures understate inflation, probably by 70-100%. In other words, if they say inflation is 3%it is probably 5%. Over 15-25 years, inflation at even 3% will have a serious effect on your savings.

What's worse is that a lot of the things that put fun into your life keep going up more than inflation - basically, anything that involves labor, from hairdressing, restaurants to golf clubs. Also, we can expect the price of gasoline to double over the next five years - and it will go even higher than that in 10-20 years time. This is not dependent on inflation but on the falling reserves of oil under the ground. What oil is there is less accessible, so it costs more to bring to market.