Guides and historical stories
These pages use the same official monthly series as the calculator. Every dollar figure is computed, not invented. They are thought experiments, not advice.
Best and worst years to buy gold
Among January starts through today, the highest CAGR was 29.1% starting in Jan 2024; the lowest was 3.9% starting in Jan 1980.
Gold vs house prices vs T-bills
$10,000 in January 2000 would be $144,542 in gold, $32,947 on the U.S. house-price index, and $17,097 in rolled 3-month T-bills.
What $100 a month would have grown to
Dollar-cost averaging on official monthly prices for gold, U.S. house prices, and T-bills, with lump-sum comparisons.
Real vs nominal returns
$10,000 in January 2000 had the purchasing power of $19,961 at the latest CPI-U reading. Here is how that changes “how much you made.”
The 1970s inflation decade
Cash, gold, and consumer prices from 1970 to 1980, then what happened if you kept holding.
Through the 2008 crisis
Gold, oil, U.S. house prices, and T-bills around the peak, the crash, and the later recovery — computed from official monthly series.
Glossary
CAGR, XIRR, spot prices, CPI-U, the FHFA HPI, and other terms used on this site.
Inflation calculator
Convert an amount between two months with official BLS CPI-U.
Compare every asset
One table, the same start date and amount, ranked by ending value.
Data: World Bank Commodity Price Data (CC BY 4.0), FHFA HPI®, U.S. Treasury yields, BLS CPI-U. Historical illustration, not financial advice; ignores fees, storage and taxes. Details