Inflation climbed 0.6% in April and pushed the annual rate to 3.8%, a three-year high that is forcing people who manage money for a living to look at their own cash differently. Nicholas Bunio is one of them. He has put off buying a new telescope this year, after delaying a new set of irons last year, and says his family now goes out to eat only on birthdays, anniversaries and Mother’s Day.

Bunio’s changes help explain why the search around savings interest tax bill rise is getting sharper now. When consumer prices rise 3.8% year over year, cash sitting in a low-yield account does not just stay still; if it earns less than inflation, it loses purchasing power over time. That matters most for people saving for a home, a car or another goal they may need to reach in the next few years, when safety and easy access still matter but idle money starts to look expensive.

Other advisors are making the same calculations. Andrew Fincher said inflation has changed how many people think about day-to-day spending and long-term planning, and said he is reviewing recurring expenses more closely, being more deliberate about large purchases and putting a higher emphasis on value instead of convenience spending. Andrew Herzog cut the weed treatment and lawn fertilization service he had been using, saying that pursuing a perfect lawn is no longer viable.

The squeeze is not only psychological. Inflation-adjusted hourly wage growth came in at 3.6%, leaving pay gains running behind prices, so the cash people hold for emergencies or near-term plans is being eroded even as it remains the safest place to park money. Financial advisors are looking for places that protect purchasing power without sacrificing liquidity, because money kept as dead money is losing ground at the same time households still need quick access to it.

Bunio put the tradeoff in plain terms: cutting back saves a few thousand bucks. For savers who need low-risk money and want returns that keep pace with rising prices, the real question now is not whether to hold cash, but how much of it can sit still before inflation quietly takes the edge off every dollar.