Nominal money and today's money
A savings result is in future currency. Inflation restates that amount in today's buying power. Put the future amount from the compound page into the inflation page if you want today's buying power. Reversing that order applies inflation twice or not at all. Keep the nominal result and the inflation result labeled. The sample amounts on the page are not a quote from a bank, a card issuer, or an employer. Replace them with the figures on your statement and run the page twice to see which field moves the result.
Two different questions
How many won, dollars, or yen will be in the account is a compounding question.
What that pile buys is an inflation question. Mixing them in one percent hides the assumption.
How much currency will sit in the account, and what that money will buy, are different questions. The compound page answers the first. The inflation page restates one amount in today's buying power. Putting both ideas into one percent hides the assumption.
The factor
At 3% inflation for 20 years, today's 100 needs about 100 × 1.03^20, roughly 180, to buy the same basket.
The inflation page does that restatement for one amount. It is not a savings plan.
At 3% inflation for 20 years, today's 100 needs about 100 × 1.03^20, roughly 180, to buy the same basket. The inflation page does that for one amount. It is not a savings plan and not a loan schedule.
A negative rate
If prices fall, the same nominal sum buys more. You can enter a negative inflation rate.
A negative savings rate is a loss of nominal money. Do not use it as a substitute for inflation.
If prices fall, the same nominal sum buys more, so the inflation field accepts a negative rate. A negative savings rate means the account balance itself shrinks. Do not use it as a stand-in for inflation.
Related tools
These figures are estimates you can recompute from the formula on the page. They are not a lender quote, a tax bill, a payroll statement, or financial advice.