Inflation is a very personal experience.
How it affects you largely depends on the products and services you consistently buy. Over the years, you may have developed different ways to measure how inflation impacts your daily lives.
One idea is the grocery bag indicator. You simply count the number of bags of groceries you buy vs. how much money you spend. More money spent for fewer bags = higher inflation. Less money, the same number of bags = lower inflation.
Another way to judge inflation is by going to the mall to see how many people are shopping and carrying bags. While people always go to the mall (especially in the winter), you can keep an eye on people who leave with something versus those who only look around.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell uses the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, which he believes better portrays costs for the average American.
One unusual inflation indicator is the WatchCharts Rolex market Index, which shows how much people will pay for Rolex watches in the secondary market. As you can see, the average market price for the index of 30 Rolex watches closed the year at $20,805, the lowest level since Q3 2020.
The Rolex indicator could suggest that the worst of inflation is over. And prices, while still higher than before, continue to trend lower steadily. But trends mean little if you’re still experiencing higher prices with the products or services you consistently buy.
WatchCharts.com, 2025. “WatchCharts Rolex Market Index.”