Enjoying a basket of toffees and cookies from Grandpa's 50 rupee note is now a thing of the past. The same 50 rupees are not able to buy a basket of happiness like before. This is due to the weakening purchasing power of money over time, which is precisely called inflation. Inflation is a burning issue across the world in the current macroeconomic scenario given geopolitical crises, supply chain disruptions, trade restrictions, volatile exchange rates and the post-pandemic effects. Central banks of various developing and developed economies began to improve interest rates as part of their monetary policy to control inflation and balance it with economic growth. Given the gravity of the economic issue due to challenging inflation, not only the nation but also the citizens have to consider protecting their 'pockets'. 'Pocket' refers to the personal financial assets of the people and the national wealth of the country.

By its very nature, inflation depreciates the real value of money in hand. For example, if the savings interest rate in the bank is around 3% and the inflation rate is around 6%, then the effect of 'real' rising inflation will be -3%, not just the interest rate. This means that the bank It affects the economy, but also the common people, it silently enters our pockets and eats up the hard earned money. This raises a dangerous question: 'How to protect the pocket?' We address this pertinent question in two ways: 1) Savings: Ways to save money, and 2) Ways to grow money incrementally.

The 'enemy' must be known before fighting a war. The same is true in the case of inflation. Keeping an eye on the inflation data, we get to know the position of the currency. Generally RBI raises interest rates to control inflation. This means an increase in EMI on the one hand, an increase in the interest earned on savings in the bank on the other. Unfortunately, the first one is higher than the second and hence high inflation and In terms of inflation, judicious decisions taken at the micro level can certainly help in controlling inflation at the macro level. Inflation isn't always the villain. Rather, inflation at a moderate level is desired in economies, especially in developing economies. This high interest rates to producers took a toll on our pockets. It is necessary to encourage, attract investment and thus drive the economy. Therefore, judicious control over inflation helps the nation as well as the citizens to protect the pockets and grow in a sustainable manner.

 The pace of growth of our money does not match the pace of depreciation of money in the market and thus devaluation of money. In other words if the return on investment is low, we are losing our money. Thankfully, these days we have new options like Flexi Fixed Deposits (FDs), which offer higher returns than savings account returns. There are many other investment options such as mutual funds, stock options, National Pension Scheme etc.