Inflation is the devaluation of the currency. In the United States that would be the devaluation of the dollar, a fiat currency. The dollar is a currency and not real money because it is backed by no tangible assets.

Real money is widely accepted as gold and silver due to the thousands of years it has been used as money and is something you can physically hold and assess a value that includes all the labor needed to mine and mint the metal. The dollar is really only worth the paper it is printed on unless you and I value it as a medium of exchange, in other words, a currency.

I hope Lauren learns something today.