Dear Reader,
Inflation gets measured in reports, but most families feel it in the pantry: you buy the “same” product and somehow run out sooner.
The most recent CPI release put inflation at 2.7% over the 12 months ending November 2025, but the report was also shaped by a federal shutdown that disrupted normal data collection, as covered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That makes it a good moment to focus on what your household actually experiences: shrinkflation.
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A respected institutional adviser predicts gold could jump to around $20,000 an ounce... and one leading currency expert predicts a shocking $27,533 an ounce.
Over half a million people follow my money-making opportunities, but I believe this one idea could be the most lucrative in the coming years.
Yet most people have no clue about it. But today, I'm pulling back the curtain and giving you the full story - for free.
Why This Matters
Shrinkflation happens when companies reduce the amount in a package without a matching price cut. Your receipt may not change much, but your per-ounce, per-sheet, or per-load cost rises.
For investors, that’s a reminder that “inflation is easing” can be true on paper while budgets still tighten in practice. For retirees and families, the real damage is churn: staples need replacing sooner, and “normal” weekly spending starts creeping upward without a headline-grabbing price jump.
This is why shrinkflation often feels worse than the news. It hides inside routine purchases where most households don’t track quantities closely.
Where Things Stand
A recent federal analysis from the U.S. Government Accountability Office explains that downsizing raises the per-unit price and can contribute to inflation measures. GAO found the overall impact on measured inflation from 2019–2024 was small because downsized items were a limited share of what’s tracked, but the effect was more meaningful in categories where downsizing is common. In GAO’s “top five” downsized categories, size changes contributed about 1.6 percentage points in cereal and up to 3.0 percentage points in household paper products.
Why do companies do it? Because shoppers notice sticker shock faster than they notice a few missing ounces. That’s also why unit pricing matters. The National Institute of Standards and Technology calls unit pricing one of the best tools consumers have to compare value when package sizes shift.
Practical steps worth using this month:
Shop by unit price (per ounce, per sheet, per load), not the shelf price.
Track purchase frequency on “repeat buys” like cereal, snacks, detergent, coffee, pet food, and paper goods. If you’re buying it more often, your real cost went up.
Build substitutions in advance (including store brands) so you can switch quickly when the value changes.
The Patriot Perspective
Households don’t need perfect economic data to protect their finances. They need clear habits.
Shrinkflation is a quiet tax on routine spending, and the defense is equally quiet: measure what you get, compare unit costs, and keep your budget grounded in reality rather than headlines.
Stay steady,
Kenneth Boyd
Author, Finance Writer, Former Investment Advisor & CPA