Why inflation can be good for us—and 10 tips for dealing with it While inflation isn't always comfortable, the far right has pounced on the opportunity to stoke fear and panic. It's time to demystify and defang inflation once and for all.

You’ve undoubtedly seen the headlines about inflation, and chances are that your vaguely racist uncle won’t stop talking about it during family dinners. Unfortunately, the topic of inflation is something that’s unavoidable nowadays.

But only hearing about inflation does little to actually prepare people for what sounds like something big and scary. We’re going to demystify inflation by providing a blueprint for how normal, everyday working folks should approach it.

First of all, recognize the many positive impacts of inflation

Although the threats of inflation are definitely overblown, we must also recognize that the fearmongering around inflation in general is often sourced from far right propaganda. Inflation isn’t actually going to come to your bedroom in the middle of the night with a bloody axe, folks. MSNBC agrees:

In theory, inflation raises prices, but we have to remember that as a result of President Biden’s policies, wages are rising, and more jobs are being created. While there can always be more progress to make in regard to wages, let’s not discount how it’s easier than ever to find a job — and this is despite how much damage Trump did during his administration.

At the end of the day, the economy is almost stronger and more vibrant than ever.

Hedge by applying for government benefits

One easy way to hedge inflation is to apply for government benefits. After all, you’ve been paying taxes all your life, so you might as well get something in return. It might be harder in Republican states, but if your mental condition renders you unable to work, you can apply for Social Security Disability Insurance.

More people than ever before are finding out that they have autism or schizophrenia in large part thanks to awareness campaigns on TikTok, and there’s no reason why these people shouldn’t be allowed to claim Social Security Disability checks.

Reduce your carbon footprint

One secret driver of inflation is climate change, according to a report by Axios. You can personally join the fight against climate change, and thus joining the fight against inflation, by reducing your carbon footprint. You can easily make a big impact on the environment through small lifestyle changes, like walking to work instead of driving, or by ditching plastic cups and straws and cupping your hands together to drink beverages.

These small but impactful lifestyle changes will drastically reduce pollution in China and India, which will make factories run more efficiently, putting more products onto store shelves.

Turn down the thermostat

Another driver of inflation is Putin’s war of aggression against the sovereign democracy of Ukraine. As a result of Putin’s war of aggression, the price of natural gas is set to increase. One easy way to fight against inflation is by standing in solidarity with Ukraine and refusing to heat your house with natural gas.

But of course, you shouldn’t have to freeze to death. You can easily find YouTube tutorials on setting up alternative heating solutions inside your house — even fire pits! Whichever alternative you choose, be sure to try to minimize the environmental impact (see earlier tip), for example by burning old trash rather than freshly cut lumber.

Sell your house and rent an apartment

Single-family housing is not only systemically disadvantaging people of color and objectively bad for the environment, but it’s also a big waste of money. There’s no reason why anybody needs to own a big house, especially in 2022, which is a time where couples are having less children and women are free to explore their careers without being tied down to their homes like slaves.

No matter who you are, you probably have too much stuff anyway. If you’re struggling to downsize, try selling excess stuff and giving part of the proceeds to charitable causes — the thought that you’re helping people out will be enough to motivate you.

Educate your friends and family

Much like the Santa Claus, if everybody believes in inflation, then inflation becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Conversely, if everyone is educated to be wary of debunked and far right adjacent economic theories, then inflation will have little impact on our economy.

As well, if people start hoarding their money, profits will decline and the stock market will crash. If people believe in the good job that our leadership is doing despite sabotage and wrecking activities emanating from Russian oligarchs, then the economy will remain stable. Economics can be complex, but it really is that simple at the fundamentals.

So tell your racist uncle to stop repeating his far right talking points about inflation. Call his activity out as a subversive form of fascism designed to worm itself into families through dinner tables.

Spend more money

In order to prevent inflation from occurring, people need to stimulate the economy. Remember that nice stimulus check Biden gave us? That was to fuel the economy.

It’s the same principle here: when people spend money, the economy is stimulated. If you’re financially savvy and end up selling your house and some of your old junk, then you’ll have plenty of cash to buy new things and help keep inflation at a healthy level.

Vote for Democrats in 2022

This one is obvious. The only way to stop the pain created by Trump and Putin is by continuing to support Democrats. According to the experts, Democrats are better at handling the economy. And I think we can all agree that the success of many parts of Biden’s economy speaks for itself.

Get a side job

There are two blessings that COVID-19 brought us: less boomers, and the explosion of the gig economy. Whether it’s DoorDash, Uber, or selling your artwork on Fiverr, there has never been a better time to be your own boss and set your own hours.

And, of course, getting your hustle on will lessen the impacts of inflation. You could even try dipping your toes (literally) into the world of OnlyFans. Onlyfans has over 1.5 million content creators, and most of them are women who are forging a path of financial independence for themselves. If you’re more adventurous, you could even try experimenting with the world of sugar babies.

Tip restaurant and retail staff

It’s time to tip more. While wages are rising, restaurant and retail staff are still not paid enough. Even if you’re only going to go pick up a pizza, you should still tip the cashier. Or if you’re in a busy grocery store, there’s no harm in tipping the staff to let them know you support them and the essential work that they do.

By tipping everywhere that you shop at, you’re combating inflation by helping out the people who are hurt the most.

And yes, we judge you if we’re behind you in line and notice that you don’t tip.