The Daily Money: Inflation is bad, or is it? Car prices, travel prices have outsized impact

Hi, Daily Money team, it's Nathan wishing you a happy weekend!

🛍️ Consider this a fair warning that the holiday shopping season is upon us. Black Friday is two weeks from today.

💰 The Daily Money is Paste BN's Monday-through-Friday-morning roundup of all things personal finance, business and tech. If this email was forwarded to you or if you found it online, you can subscribe for free here!

On to our ...

💡 INSIGHT OF THE DAY: Inflation is at a 31-year high, and, yes, the prices of things like food have risen sharply. But a few factors are having an outsized impact on the numbers. For starters, a year-over-year increase in hotel and airline prices from 2020's rock-bottom lows looks rough on paper – but we're basically getting back to more normal levels. Even more significantly, car prices have skyrocketed. It's pretty ugly. But the good news is that if you don't need a new car anytime soon, that won't affect you too much.

💡 💡 BONUS INSIGHT: Say goodbye to the offering plate. I'm not sure if this is divine or ... the opposite. But some churches are beginning to accept cryptocurrency from their parishioners. 

📰 And here are more stories you won't want to miss:

1. Inflation can be confusing: Here's a basic primer on what it means for you.

2. Wages are rising, but so are consumer prices. Is this a wage-price spiral?

3. These 'unruly' passengers spit at, punched and kicked airline crew members. Now, they face hefty fines.

4. Disney+ Day is today: Get ready for deals and new releases.

🎥 Among them: The new "Home Alone" movie. As a child of the 90s, I can't decide if I'm outraged or intrigued.

--@NathanBomey