Welcome back to The Penny & The Pint! In this installment of the "My Roman Empire" series, John and Brendan are tackling a financial topic they obsess over daily: Inflation, the ultimate thief in the night. But before diving into supply chain shocks and CPI numbers, Brendan breaks down his upcoming survival prep as a "silver alert" fan headed to see K-pop megastars BTS at M&T Bank Stadium—complete with army bombs, compression socks, and fan chants.

In the main segment, the guys dissect how inflation silently erodes your hard-earned purchasing power over time. They clear up the difference between Headline CPI and Core Inflation, call out the sneaky trap of "shrinkflation," and discuss why hiding your cash in a mattress (or mason jar) guarantees a loss. Finally, John and Brendan lay out a practical bucket strategy—from high-yield savings to diversified portfolios—to help you outpace the invisible hand of inflation and build real long-term wealth.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• Silver Fan Survival Kit: The hilarious reality of gearing up for a stadium BTS concert with earplugs, Aleve, and compression socks.
• Headline vs. Core Inflation: Why ignoring food and energy in inflation numbers misses what everyday consumers actually feel.
• Spotting Shrinkflation: How companies pass along stealth price hikes by shrinking product sizes instead of raising prices.
• Beating the Thief: How to bucket short-term cash in High-Yield Savings Accounts and rely on growth portfolios to protect your long-term purchasing power.

Contact & Resources

• Visit us online: www.oldirishguysfinancial.com
• Send us your portfolio questions: info@oldirishguysfinancial.com
• Catch up on the series: thepennythepint.transistor.fm

• (00:00) - Show Intro and Roman Empire
• (00:45) - BTS Concert Prep Chaos
• (08:13) - Back From Break Inflation Begins
• (08:37) - Inflation Explained
• (10:57) - CPI Core vs Headline
• (15:29) - Beating Inflation Strategy