"Instant Inflation" Is Killing Us — Here Are Seven Ways to Beat It and Win

There’s a deli just around the corner from where I grew up. It does a land-rush business. And it makes amazing BLTs.

In fact — other than the ones my Mom makes (and she’s 88) — these servings of heaven on two slices of thick, white toast are the best BLTs I’ve found.

Anywhere.

As I was walking into the deli a few weeks back (for BLTs to take to my Mom), I saw this sign taped to the inside of the door. At the risk of sounding cliché, I’ll admit it: It stopped me in my tracks.

Because I saw that sign — and the “pass-along cost” it represents — for exactly what it was.

I call it “Instant Inflation.”

And examples are cropping up … everywhere.

Indeed, just a few weeks later, I stopped — for takeout — at one of the local pizza shops my son Joey likes. It was right before closing. And since there wasn’t a single menu in sight, I asked for one. The young guy behind the counter, slid one my way — and then he surprised me.

“Just add a dollar to pretty much everything on the menu,” the kid said. “Prices have been rising like crazy the past few months.”

He really said that — I’m not making this up. To say I was “taken aback” was an understatement.

But this second example of “Instant Inflation” started me thinking:

• Where else is this “Instant Inflation” showing up? (Because you know that inflation is popping up everywhere.)

• How much is stinging mainstream Americans? (Because, as I’ve shown you time and again, the“American Dream” is getting hit hard.)

• And — most important of all — what can you do to beat these threats? (Because investors who pursue self-reliance are also the investors who “win.” )

There are ways — and I’ll give you seven great ones today.

But let’s start with that sign.

Those Insidious “Fees”

That 3.75% pass-along fee is a hardcore example of how inflationary pressures build in the economy and then — like water — cascade downhill … where most consumers live.

Every time you use a credit card, the merchant pays a fee — usually 2% to 4% of whatever you’re spending.

But those businesses didn’t pass those fees along — for a bunch of reasons.

For one thing, Mastercard (M) and Visa (V) for years actually prohibited “surcharging.”

For another, merchants worried that you and I (and consumers like us) would be offended by getting slapped with what amounts to “another tax.”

But the landscape changed … gradually, at first, and then at an accelerating pace.

Starting around 2013, a series of court cases and legal settlements opened the door for merchants to start surcharging (as long as they disclosed what they were doing).

Restaurants, specialty shops and convenience stores were still worried about alienating their customers. So they flipped the script, so to speak: Instead of overtly adding surcharges, they offered “discounts” for using cash — a different narrative but same result.

After the supply-chain squeeze during the COVID-19 Pandemic — and the inflationary ramp-up we’ve seen the last few years — merchants found that these credit-card surcharges were eating into their already-thin profit margins. So they started to pass along at least part of the cost — and then more of it.

They couldn’t afford not to.

For consumers like us, that’s “Instant Inflation.”

Think about it: A 3.75% surcharge on a $20 lunch is an immediate increase (75 cents) in your out-of-pocket cost — even though it doesn’t show up as a price increase on the menu.

The cost was buried before; now it’s visible.

And it’s additive: Costs are rising throughout our economy — as my “Instant Inflation” pizza shop anecdote also shows.

Headline inflation is 3.4%. So you can think of that 3.75% surcharge as an “Instant Inflation” boost that brings true inflation to 7.15%.

And there are other “Instant Inflation” pressures … stealthy, de facto price increases that are spooling up prices across the economy — and squeezing Middle Class Americans in a way not seen since the inflationary 1970s.

I’ve taken Joey and my wife Robin to several concerts this year. If you’ve done the same, you probably recognize the accompanying ticketing and entertainment fees — tack-ons like:

• Concert ticket (listed price): $75.

• Service fee: $18.

• Convenience fee: $7.

• Processing fee: $4.

Suddenly, a $75 ticket becomes a $104 ticket — a 39% increase.

Stayed at a hotel of late? Then maybe you’ve experienced this:

• Advertised room rate: $199.

• Resort fee: $45.

That’s a 23% “bump” on that one-night stay.

Many municipalities, motor-vehicle departments, tax offices and utilities now charge explicit fees for credit-card payments.

Indeed, let me share a couple “Instant Inflation” examples from my home state of Maryland to help illustrate what’s happening.

Inflation Starts at “Home”

For its $67 billion Fiscal 2026 budget — which took effect on July 1, 2025 — Maryland was looking at a $3.3 billion budget gap. To close that shortfall, the spending plan included $2 billion in cost cuts and $1.6 billion in new taxes and fees — “Instant Inflation” for folks who live here in the “Land of Pleasant Living.”

Those “Instant Inflation” increases included higher vehicle-registration fees, higher vehicle-excise taxes, new tire fees and boosted vehicle-emission-testing fees.

For instance, the tax on vehicle purchases increased from 6.0% to 6.8%.

On a $40,000 vehicle:

• The old excise tax: $2,400.

• The new excise tax: $2,720.

• That’s an additional $320 to the state when you buy a new vehicle.

For the tire fee, Maryland added a $5-per-tire fee. You buy four new tires — the cost increases 20 bucks. And the Vehicle Emissions Inspection Program (VEIP) — which, interestingly, I covered as a new reporter when it debuted in the middle 1980s — saw its fee jump from $14 to $30. That’s a 114% increase.

There were other increases, too — perhaps more stealthy than the ones I detailed. Purchases from vending machines were now subject to the state sales tax. Maryland boosted its sales-tax base to include many new IT and data services. So while you might not see a specific “line-item” surcharge, there, too, businesses are often passing costs through to customers in the form of:

• Higher monthly fees.

• More-costly service contracts.

• Increased software bills.

• And generally higher prices.

Here in my home state, the median household income is $109,700 a year. Households in the Baltimore/Columbia/Towson Metro Area spent an average of $95,762 a year in 2023-24, says the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Those are the most-recent figures available. But it’s one of the highest spending levels in America. And it’s close enough to give us a feel for how “Instant Inflation” hits home.

A reasonable range for the median Maryland household’s annual spending in 2026 is $80,000 to $95,000 a year — or about $6,700 to $7,900 per month. So the midpoint would be about $87,500 a year — or $7,300 a month.

Using BLS expenditure shares for the Baltimore area:

• Housing: Roughly 31%.

• Transportation: ~17%.

• Food: ~14%.

• Insurance & pensions: ~14%.

• Healthcare, entertainment, clothing, utilities, and everything else: ~24%.

For a household spending $87,500 annually, that roughly translates to:

If a Maryland household already spends about $90,000 a year, those seemingly small “Instant Inflation” fees add up quickly:

• Credit-card surcharges: $200-$500 a year.

• Higher vehicle excise tax: Hundreds of dollars buying a car or truck.

• Higher registration fees: $50-$200 a year.

• Tire fees: $20 per set.

• Higher emissions fees.

• Higher insurance premiums.

• And utility delivery charges.

Individually, they look trivial. Collectively, for a typical middle-class Maryland family, we could be talking about “Instant Inflation” costs of $500, $1,000 or $2,000 a year — or more.

And that’s in addition to headline inflation of 3.4% – and “other” costs like energy increases.

As of May 2026, Maryland’s average residential electricity rate was 21.77 cents per kilowatt hour — up 14.6% year-over-year. The average monthly electric bill was $158.27, up 18.7% year-over-year.

As of early September, Maryland regular gasoline is averaging about $3.93 to $4 per gallon, versus roughly $3.13 a year ago. That means gasoline, here, is up about 25% to 28% on a year-over-year basis. (And I’m really feeling it since my old black Dodge Ram is powered by a 392 Hemi, drinks Premium and is very thirsty … as this snapshot from a mid-May fill-up — my most costly ever — poignantly shows.)

At this point, I think you get the picture. “Instant Inflation” is a stealthy Wealth Killer – and you have to take action.

Here are seven moves to make.

Seven Moves to Blunt “Instant Inflation”

As our core belief here says: “As an investor, you’re either a Wealth Builder or a Wealth Killer — and there’s no in-between. If you’re not one you’re the other, and you hold the key.”

Here’s how to put yourself in Wealth Builder territory.

Move 1: Find Real Income: Most investors fundamentally misunderstand the concept of “income.” As a Wealth Builder, you need to think of income in terms of “cash flow.” How much is left in your pocket after you account for taxes, inflation and market interest rates? In my SPC Premium Midyear Review, I updated folks on the three “Real Income” plays that are in our Model Portfolio. Interestingly enough, in the Barron’s Midyear Roundtable, Sonia Desai, portfolio manager of the Franklin Templeton Fixed Income Fund, listed two of them among her top recommendations. The third of our “Real Income” plays — and the newest — features a 10.25% yield. And the payout is monthly — meaning you’re getting an “income paycheck” 12 times a year.

Move No. 2: Keep Buying Gold and Silver: No matter how much gold and silver you own right now, it’s not enough. You need physical precious metals. But you also need to own the companies that look for, mine and refine gold and silver. Miners have tremendous leverage when prices increase. And we’ve been on this since we launched SPC back in early 2024, when silver was down around $23 an ounce. It’s at $65 now — and growing U.S. and global debt, the hoarding of gold by global central banks, inflation and uncertainty, and the “mainstreaming” of metals investing means gold and silver are likely headed higher. Two of our top metals plays in the Model Portfolio are companies that finance miners. Both stocks have zoomed already — but the best is yet to come. In terms of physical metal, pre-1965 U.S. silver coins, 80% circulated Canadian silver, U.S. “federal silver” and standbys like U.S. Silver Eagles, Canadian Maple Leafs, Mexican Libertads and South African Krugerrands are good to own, too. Just this week, Goldman Sachs Group (GS) boosted its year-end target forecast for gold to $4,900 an ounce — a projected 13% gain by New Year’s Eve.

Move No. 3: Invest in Money Doublers: We believe that “if you find the best storylines, you’ll find the best stocks.” And we especially look for “money doublers” — storyline beneficiaries that you can buy and hold for three, five or seven years … or longer. And, during that span, these are stocks that can double your money … two or three times — or more. I’ll give you folks an example here with Xylem (XYL), a company that transforms bad water back into good. Extreme-weather events are accelerating — the tragedies in Nepal and the Grand Canyon of the last few weeks are proof of what I’m saying. That spells trouble for drinkable water. So do the massive cooling needs of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Era, one of the major storylines we’re following. Earlier this month, in fact, a new study by the sustainability nonprofit Ceres said that data centers in seven key U.S. states use about 3.4 trillion gallons of water. Indirect water use could reach 7.6 trillion gallons by 2030 — with electricity consumption accounting for as much as 17% of total U.S. water demand, Ceres projects. Analysts are forecasting a 44% gain for Xylem shares over the next 12 months. Our paid members can access the Xylem dossier here or all our Model Portfolio Dossiers here.

Move No. 4: Transform “Bad News” Into Wealth: It’s one of “Bill’s Rules:” Bull markets make money; bear markets make fortunes. I got interested in stocks because of the “Crash of ’87.” Indeed, I still own shares of the first stock I ever bought — a utility called Southern Co. (SO), which I still like, incidentally. I look at pullbacks as “Accumulate” opportunities. You should, too. After that historic two-day wipeout in April 2025, I grabbed a bunch of stocks for myself and Joey — including shares of Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL). From about $140 a share, Alphabet shares soared all the way to $408.61. Even now, at $335, Joey’s sitting on a profit of nearly 200%.

Move No. 5: Prepare for Stagflation: Inflation is tough enough for investors to beat. But economists once thought stagflation — high inflation in the face of zero or declining economic growth — was impossible. The 1970s proved them wrong. America’s economic expansion is growing long in the tooth. And, as we’ve already demonstrated, economic inflation is being augmented by budget-squeezed and increasingly desperate state, local and national governments around the world. The debt bomb is ticking, AI could eradicate millions of jobs, geopolitics are becoming increasingly flinty … at some point, economic growth will stall, fall and “hit the reset button.” That’s painful in the near term, but is actually healthy since it cleans out the waste and speculative froth. But stagflation will benefit certain companies. For instance, Costco Wholesale (COST) profiles as one of the ultimate “stagflation stocks.” We even worked out a multiyear forecast for Costco shares. Investors who prepare are the investors who win.

Move No. 6: Buy This Book: My e-book, Wealth Builder/Wealth Killer: Keep Your Cool and Win in a Stock Market Built to Break You, is a compendium of everything I’ve learned in my 40 years as an award-winning business reporter, columnist, analyst and stock picker. It’ll be the best $9.95 you’ll spend this year.

Move No. 7: Become an SPC Premium Subscriber: We have a loyal following of independent-thinking, winning Wealth Builders. Support our work by joining us.

I look forward to seeing you on the Wealth Builder Team.