> because the cost of everything I buy will go up by a total of $5k/mo That isn't how it works. It isn't how it could work. Simple proof: Suppose there are two

> because the cost of everything I buy will go up by a total of $5k/mo That isn't how it works. It isn't how it could work. Simple proof: Suppose there are two people, one of whom buys all the same things the other buys plus some more. It is not possible for both of them to find that the cost of what they buy goes up by the same $5k/month. It is true that if $5k/mo started appearing in everyone's bank account by magic then there would be inflation. But there is no guarantee that the amount of that inflation would be such as to leave everyone in the exact same situation as before. In particular, some people would gain relative to others. And some possible people would gain (or lose) relative to others. In particular, there would be changes to your situation relative to that of hypothetical-you-who-just-quit-their-job. Or to hypothetical-you-who-just-got-a-job-at-a-hedge-fund. Or whatever. Which might make a difference to your choices. Which is the point of the question.