Few economists predict we’ll return to the double-digit price increases of the late 1970s and early 1980s. But knowing some of the ways consumers coped back then — and how things are different now — can help you formulate a plan to deal with rising prices.

First, a primer: Inflation shrinks your purchasing power, so you need more money to buy the same goods and services. When inflation averages less than 2%, as it did from 2010 to 2020, it would take more than 35 years for prices to double. When inflation averages 5%, which was the annualized rate reported in May, prices would double in less than 15 years. That is a huge deal if you live on a fixed income or are trying to calculate how much you’ll need in retirement.

In my latest for the Associated Press, strategies that may prove helpful.