Very few concepts in finance are simpler than the money-stuff relationship, where "stuff" is physical commodities and "money" can be adjusted by either the relative strength of a currency or by its purchasing power.

The simple relationship is, when money loses value, as it has an annoying habit of doing, the money price of stuff must rise to compensate. However, there is a reason we call those who think simply, "simpletons" — they seldom look beyond the obvious.