Ask the Fool Calculating Inflation

Q Can you recommend a good inflation calculator? — C.A., Reno, Nevada

A Sure. Click over to Westegg.com/inflation,

enter two years, and you can see how prices changed between them — for example, something that cost $100 in 1999 would have cost $156 in 2019. To learn the average inflation rate over a period, visit MeasuringWorth.com/ inflation. (Between 1999 and 2019, for example, it averaged 2.16% annually in the U.S.) That site also shows inflation rates for specific years. Inflation was close to 0% in 2015, but topped 13% in 1980! Since the beginning of the 20th century, inflation has averaged roughly 3% annually.

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Q Can I give certificates for single shares of stock as holiday gifts?— G.R., Mount Pleasant, South Carolina

A You can, but you may not want to. Giving a young person a stock certificate can be a fun way to introduce them to investing, but in this digital era, many companies have phased out paper certificates. You can still ask the company or your broker for a paper certificate, but it will cost you— possibly a lot.

Some websites will offer to sell you certificates for single shares of stock, but they may charge you twice as much as the share actually costs

(or more!), and there’s a good chance you’ll just be getting a replica of a certificate. (You’ll also get paperwork confirming that you do own that share.)

Alternatively, you might just transfer one or more shares of a stock you own from your brokerage account to an account belonging to the recipient. If your recipients are minors, they’ll need custodial accounts, likely with a parent or guardian as custodian. Ideally, focus on companies they admire, like Disney, Nike or Starbucks.

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