You can do almost anything from home thanks to the power of modern technology. It’s a cliched expression, but it’s true. You can watch movies, go to school, attend meetings, and connect with people from the four corners of the globe. A virtual world of opportunities awaits anyone with a computer, smartphone, tablet, or suitably capable device.
In the spirit of embracing what’s available to us and tapping into the zeitgeist, you can use the internet to learn about the economy. For anyone with even one eye on the news, economic matters have been in the headline since 2020. With various factors causing economies around the world to suffer, it’s worth understanding what’s going on.
Indeed, if history teaches us anything, it’s that having a handle on financial matters can pay dividends. For example, businesses that were capable of riding the economic storms of 2008 and 2011, such as Netflix and Amazon, emerged stronger than ever. You might not be at the helm of a major corporation, but you are the CEO of your own finances.
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Therefore, if you want the ability to survive when times are tough and thrive when they’re buoyant, you should master some basic economic concepts. The first is inflation. You’ve probably heard the term, but what does it mean? We can use the internet to find out. As well as technical definitions, you can use mainstream news outlets to learn about this economic concept.
As explained by the New York Times, inflation is “a loss of purchasing power over time: It means your dollar will not go as far tomorrow as it did today.” Understanding this concept alone is important because you know that, during times of high inflation, the amount of bang you get for your buck will be lower than before. Taking this a step further, we can look at the DXY (the U.S. Dollar Index). The DXY tracks the strength of USD against a basket of international currencies, including EUR, JPY, and GBP.
You can go online and look at the live DXY chart to see how strong or weak the US dollar is in comparison to other currencies. Essentially, if inflation is the amount of value you get per dollar on a personal level, the DXY looks at how much value USD gets on a global scale. When the US dollar is stronger than another, it costs less (in relative terms) to import goods. When it’s weaker than another currency, imports cost more.
Economic Issues Affect You
The cost of importing goods impacts you. If Walmart has to pay more for fruit, that cost is passed onto consumers (i.e. you). So, again, by understanding this economic concept and tracking live data, you’ll know when things are going to cost more or less (relatively speaking). You can’t control inflation or the strength of the USD, but you can track them and use the information to change your own behaviors.
When inflation is high and USD is weak, things will cost more. If that’s the case, it’s time to be more conservative and efficient with your spending. When the reverse is true, you can take more financial risks. Essentially, even though economic issues might seem ethereal and beyond your remit, they’re not. Using the internet to your advantage and learning about the economy can be extremely valuable. As the saying goes: if it makes dollars, it makes sense.