Living with feisty inflation

You might have seen the startling
news this morning about inflation. The cost of living exploded by 1.1 percent in June, which is a sobering annual rate
above 13 percent.

One of the Indianapolis areaâ??s leading financial planners says itâ??s time to take action.

Grace Worley, who calls the June rate a â??horrific numberâ?? when taken in isolation, has been warning clients to expect an erosion
in the American standard of living. Expanding economies around the globe will continue bidding up prices for oil and other
commodities, meaning robust inflation has become a fact of life at a time when incomes arenâ??t increasing very quickly.

What to do? Keep plenty of cash on hand and take on no more debt than can be managed under most circumstances, she advises.
And squirrel away money in diverse, global investments.

â??Thatâ??s all that a prudent person can do in an uncertain world,â?? she says.

One other thing.

Because rising inflation implies prices will be higher in the future, buy things now that youâ??ll need in a year or two. But
only if you have the cash to do so and actually will need them.

Your driveway is cracking and you have the money to fix it? Go ahead with the repair, Worley says, because the price of concrete
and asphalt might climb. Donâ??t take out a loan, though, because interest rates will start rising next year, she predicts.

What do you think?