You can combat inflation even if the Bank of England won’t

David Kuo, Director at the financial website The Motley Fool, says: "As expected, the Bank of England has left interest rates unchanged. The decision is not a surprise given the weakness of the British economy. But it is worrying, nevertheless.

"Let us not be tricked into believing that near-zero interest rates can be taken as a sign that the threat of inflation has diminished. The reality is that inflation, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index, rose in February. It was up from 3% to 3.2%. This should have prompted the Monetary Policy Committee to hike base rate this month - but it hasn't.

"It seems that the Bank of England is happy to delay tackling inflation but we don't have the same luxury.

"We need to ensure that money we are putting away will hold its value over the long term. That means investing in assets that have historically beaten inflation. Only two asset classes have done so comfortably in the past - they are shares and property.

"We need to appreciate that while the Government can print all the extra money it needs to pay its future bills, we can't. We would be arrested if we tried. So, in order for us to meet future financial commitments, we have to make sure that our money is invested in inflation-beating assets."