Since 2022, I have increasingly heard the same lament back in the Netherlands, where I am originally from:
“Everything has become so incredibly expensive.” - “The price of a loaf of bread goes up every week.” - “The energy bill is simply unaffordable.”
And indeed, the signals are undeniable. Inflation figures have reached unprecedented heights for years. The cost of living — from food to housing, from healthcare to energy — is skyrocketing. Even in one of the wealthiest and most stable countries in the world, the Netherlands, an estimated 60% to 70% of the population is currently struggling to make ends meet or is on the verge of doing so.
But what stands out is this:
People mostly complain about the symptoms, but rarely about the causes.
The true roots of this financial pain are largely left undiscussed.
The conversation lingers at the fact that products have become ‘more expensive,’ while the deeper reality remains overlooked:
Your money has lost value.
Inflation: More Than a Side Effect of Crises
In public discourse, inflation is often portrayed as an inevitable side effect of external events:
• The war in Ukraine
• Disruptions in supply chains
• Tensions between global powers
Without minimizing the impact of these events, it must be honestly acknowledged: these factors only explain a fraction of the structural currency devaluation we are experiencing today.
The true engine behind inflation is much more fundamental and systematic:
Massive monetary expansion
Since the Great Financial Crisis of 2008, central banks around the world have explosively increased the money supply. Through so-called ‘quantitative easing’ (QE), trillions of dollars in liquidity were injected into the system. Central banks purchased debt and financed government expenditures with newly created money.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the accelerator was pushed to the floor:
• The European Central Bank (ECB) expanded its balance sheet by more than 100% since 2020.
• The U.S. Federal Reserve doubled its balance sheet within just two years.
• The Bank of England, Bank of Japan, and numerous other central banks followed the same path.
When money is created without corresponding value, its purchasing power inevitably declines.
If unlimited euros, dollars, or pounds are created without a proportional increase in real goods and services, each existing unit of that currency loses a slice of its value.
Examples from Daily Life
Look at your grocery cart, your rental agreement, or your energy bill, and you will see it clearly:
| Item or Service | 2021 (Pre-Inflation Spike) | 2024/now | Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bread (1 white loaf) | € 1.80 | €2.50 | +39% |
| Social housing rent | € 700/month | €825/month | +18% |
| Gasoline (per liter) | € 1.65 | €2.05 | +24% |
| Gas price (per m3) | € 0.80 | € 1.75 | +119% |
| Electricity price | € 0.22 | € 0.48 | +118% |
| Basic health insurance | € 120/month | € 147/month | +22% |
| Meat (chicken breast, 1kg) | € 6.00 | € 8.70 | +45% |
| Vegetables (cauliflower, per unit) | € 2.00 | € 3.30 | +65% |
| Potatoes (5kg) | € 4.50 | € 7.00 | +56% |
| Cheese (semi-mature, 1kg) | € 8.50 | € 13.00 | +53% |
| Public transport (monthly pass) | € 90 | € 120 | +33% |
| Vacation (average package trip) | € 850 | € 1.150 | +35% |
And these are still relatively conservative estimates.
More importantly:
Your income has not kept pace
The result? A real impoverishment of the middle class and lower income groups.
Why Does the System Keep Repeating Itself?
Because it is designed to function this way.
The current fiat currency system — in which money can be created by governments and central banks without any linkage to real assets like gold or other scarcities — is built upon:
1. Structural Debt
Debt is not an accident or error; it is an integral feature. Growth is driven by consumption on credit.
2. Inflationary Tendencies
Inflation is not an unintended side effect — it is intentional. Moderate, continuous inflation reduces the real debt burden of governments and encourages consumption.
3. Monetization of Problems
In every crisis (banking crisis, pandemic, geopolitical conflict), the standard solution is: print more money and create more debt.
4. Political Dependence
Governments rely on low interest rates and high liquidity to continue financing their expenditures without facing electoral backlash (through tax hikes).
What Could Open People’s Eyes?
The irony is that as long as people experience only price increases without understanding the underlying system, the cycle continues to feed itself.
Some ways the veil could be lifted:
• Financial Education: Basic knowledge about monetary systems, inflation, and debt creation must become widely accessible.
• Experiential Crises: A real collapse of purchasing power (hyperinflation) could painfully expose reality.
• Alternative Currencies: The rise of gold, silver, Bitcoin, or other alternatives could reveal the vulnerabilities of fiat money.
• Political Awakening: If voters demand that governments stop debt-financing and monetary manipulation, pressure could build for reform.
In Conclusion: What Should You Do?
Awareness is the first step. Protection is the second.
At LionRhine Capital, we advocate for diversifying wealth into tangible assets and alternative investments that cannot simply be printed:
• Real estate
• Gold and precious metals
• Infrastructure
• Shares in robust, profitable companies
• Private debt and private equity
Protection against currency devaluation is not a luxury. It is a necessity.
Those who cling to the illusion that ‘the government will fix it’ or that central banks ‘have it all under control’ may wake up tomorrow in a world where their purchasing power has been halved.
Thus, the real question is not:
“Are things getting more expensive?”
The real question is:
“How fast is your money losing value?” And more importantly: What are you going to do about it?