Inflation eats away at savings left standing still. Set your parameters and measure the loss of purchasing power — and what you would have gained by investing.
This calculator illustrates a mechanism for educational purposes. The inflation and return entered are assumptions, not forecasts: past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance and all investment carries a risk of capital loss. Real value expressed in today's purchasing power, before fees and tax. Constitutes neither a fatwa nor investment advice within the meaning of the LSFin.
Leaving your savings in a non-interest-bearing account gives the impression of “risking nothing”. In reality, it is a choice with a cost, silent but very real: inflation. Each year, the general rise in prices reduces what your money can buy. The amount in the account does not move, but its purchasing power erodes.
With inflation of 2 % per year — close to the long-term Swiss average — 100 CHF today will buy only the equivalent of around 67 CHF in 20 years. On a capital sum with regular payments, the cumulative loss quickly runs into tens of thousands of francs. That is what the “loss due to inflation” line above makes visible.
On top of the loss of purchasing power comes a second cost, often overlooked: lost earnings. While money sits idle, it could have been working. A broad equity market has historically returned in the order of 7 to 10 % per year on average over the long term — a historical average, with no guarantee for the future. The gap between “savings standing still” and “savings invested” is the opportunity cost of inaction.
The classic answer to inflation — placing your money at interest — rests on riba, prohibited in Islam. The compliant route consists in investing in real assets: shares in companies screened against the AAOIFI standards, physical gold, property, halal ETFs. The aim is not to speculate, but to put your capital to work in the real economy in order to preserve, or even increase, your purchasing power.
The values are estimates for educational purposes (indicative accuracy). Actual inflation and returns vary over time. This calculator does not constitute investment advice within the meaning of the LSFin, nor a recommendation to buy.
This simulator shows the cost of standing still. What comes next — learning to choose compliant vehicles yourself, within the Swiss framework — is acquired through the ALG Club programme. A first conversation to find out about it, with no obligation.
ALG Club Sàrl is a private financial training and education organisation. We provide no personalised investment advice within the meaning of the Financial Services Act (LSFin), we manage no assets on behalf of third parties and we distribute no financial, insurance or pension products. ALG Club is neither a financial intermediary nor an insurance intermediary. Our content, guides and tools are educational: every investment decision is the sole responsibility of the person who takes it, and all investment carries a risk of capital loss.