I find it insightful to adjust financial amounts for inflation, but it usually takes too long to perform these calculations regularly. I would go to the online CPI Inflation Calculator and adjust the numbers one at a time.
This made me wonder…could I create a spreadsheet that makes it easy to adjust for inflation? If you know me, you know I think I can solve most of life’s problems with a spreadsheet…and here’s that spreadsheet: https://jctaccounting.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Inflation_Adjuster.xlsx
In the video I show how to use the Inflation Adjuster spreadsheet. Here’s my written instructions:
- Download Inflation Adjuster Spreadsheet: You can get that here: https://jctaccounting.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Inflation_Adjuster.xlsx
- Update Inflation Adjuster: Go to Inflation Data to get the most recent inflation numbers to update the second sheet (Inflation_Data). Change the date on the second sheet (Example) to the last day of the month of the month you have inflation data for. Example, I have the Inflation_Data updated through October of 2024 so I plugged in 10/31/2024.
- Prepare Data to be Adjusted: You need dates, not just the year or month, in the first column. The next column is the amount to be adjusted. See the example below.
- Copy and Paste from Inflation Adjuster: Select the cells I have highlighted in red (C1:D2). Copy. Paste those cells directly to the right of the amounts you want to adjust.
- Fill Down: Select that number under “Inflation Adjusted.” If you click and drag the little dot in the lower right corner of the cell, you can quickly copy the formula down.
One thing I like to do as well, is then select on the inflation adjusted numbers, and then Copy and Paste Values. That way I’m not linking two spreadsheets which can cause issues.
Useful Links
- Inflation Adjuster Spreadsheet: https://jctaccounting.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Inflation_Adjuster.xlsx
- CPI Inflation Calculator: https://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl
- Inflation Data: https://inflationdata.com/Inflation/Consumer_Price_Index/HistoricalCPI.aspx?reloaded=true