A savings account stuck at 2% beat US inflation in only 30% of months since 1954.
Put in your own rate and see every month from July 1954 to September 2026 settle in red or blue. Guess first.
Your guess
50%
Now set your own rate
2.0%
0%Today's Fed funds rate: 8%
of months your rate beat inflation
longest unbroken run of losing months
worst gap in one month
latest month (Sep 2026) gap
Every month, one cell
rate beat inflationinflation wonstronger colour = bigger gap
Tap any cell or year to see what happened.
By decade at your rate
Sources and note
Effective federal funds rate, daily, monthly average computed here: Board of Governors via FRED series DFF, data to 22 Oct 2026. Consumer prices: BLS CPI-U all items, seasonally adjusted, via FRED series CPIAUCSL, to September 2026; inflation is the change versus the same month a year earlier. Months compared: July 1954 to September 2026 (866), October 2026 left out as incomplete. Note: your fixed rate is a what-if line, it ignores taxes and compounding, and banks usually pay less than the Fed funds rate. Educational, not advice.