Why Your Dollar Buys Less
Ever wonder why a candy bar costs more than it did when you were a kid? Master the basics of inflation and learn how to protect your wallet from rising prices.
Like Duolingo, but for Why Your Dollar Buys Less. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
A short one: 26 levels across 3 sections, about 52 minutes end to end, roughly 10 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Surviving Price Hikes, Judging the Economy, and The Hidden Gears. It starts from scratch.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in Why Your Dollar Buys Less
- Inflation affects a broad 'basket' of goods across different sectors
- Shrinkflation is a hidden price increase where the price stays flat but volume decreases
- Isolated price hikes are usually specific to one brand or store
- Inflation is defined by getting less value for the same
- Manufacturers often use 'slack fill' (extra air) or deeper indentations in packaging to hide volume loss
- Distinguishing between isolated price hikes and broad inflation
- The 'unit price' (price per ounce/gram) will rise even if the total package price remains the same
- Identifying the mechanism of shrinkflation
- Recognizing physical signs of shrinkflation on the shelf
- The face value of currency stays the same while the cost of goods rises
- Purchasing power measures how much 'stuff' a specific amount of money can actually get you
- A raise only increases wealth if it outpaces the rising cost of living
- Inflation erodes the real-world value of a paycheck
- The difference between nominal value and purchasing power
- Evaluating a raise against the rate of inflation
- Nominal value is just the number on the currency
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Why Your Dollar Buys Less the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
You notice that prices for gas, rent, and groceries are all climbing at once. What is this broad trend called?
Get it right to open this lesson and 25 more in the app.
How to learn Why Your Dollar Buys Less, step by step
Go in order. 26 short levels across 3 sections, about 52 minutes in all, five minutes a day.
- 1
Surviving Price Hikes
- Spotting inflation in your daily life
- Why your paycheck feels smaller
- The winners and losers of rising prices
- Simple ways to beat the squeeze
- 2
Judging the Economy
- How we measure the cost of living
- Good inflation vs. bad inflation
- Reading the news without the jargon
- Why prices don't all rise at once
- The danger of prices rising too fast
- What happens when prices actually fall
- 3
The Hidden Gears
- Too much money chasing too few goods
- How interest rates change your spending
- The role of the government and banks
3 sections · 13 units · 26 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Questions about Why Your Dollar Buys Less
How do I learn Why Your Dollar Buys Less?
Go in order: start with Surviving Price Hikes, then Judging the Economy, then The Hidden Gears. On Tomo that's 26 short levels, about 52 minutes in all, played five minutes a day. Start free and play the first level in under a minute.
Is there a Duolingo-style app for Why Your Dollar Buys Less?
Yes. Tomo works like Duolingo: short daily lessons, streaks and quick quizzes. Why Your Dollar Buys Less is one of its free courses, and you can type any other topic to get a course of your own.
Is the Why Your Dollar Buys Less course free?
Yes. Why Your Dollar Buys Less is playable on Tomo's free plan, which doesn't expire. No credit card, no waitlist. Download the app and start your first lesson.
How long does it take to learn Why Your Dollar Buys Less?
26 levels across 3 sections, about 52 minutes of play in total. It's built for five minutes a day, so you finish it a little at a time instead of all at once.
Do I need any background to start Why Your Dollar Buys Less?
No. It's pitched at a beginner level, so it starts where you are and builds up. If you can tap a phone, you can start.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
Why Your Dollar Buys Less is taught in the Bestie style: your friend who just gets it. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start Why Your Dollar Buys Less today.
Download Tomo, search Why Your Dollar Buys Less, and play your first lesson in under a minute.