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Certain statistics are usually inflation adjusted, like GDP. Real Gross Domestic Product measures economic output adjusted for inflation or deflation. If inflation is 20%, and you're earning 3% interest, your losing purchasing power. If inflation is 1% and you're earning 3%, you're gaining.

Real, not nominal, returns are what people care about.

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> If inflation is 20%, and you're earning 3% interest, your losing purchasing power.

Yes but I think the point the person you're replying to is trying to make is that it doesn't matter because the inflation rate is not dependent on where you put your money.

Shouldn't the comparison be to the interest rates and risk with comparable places to put/invest your money? I suppose if inflation were extremely high or low compared to interest rates then it would affect your appetite for risk vs interest rate, but I don't think that's the case here.

You need to consider real returns only if the inflation rate varies between things you're looking at, i.e., across countries or time.

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