If interest rates are at 1% and inflation is expected to rise at 2%, then money invested would lose real value at the differential rate of 1%. Therefore, such an investment would not likely be wise. Of course, that does not mean that spending all of the money right away would be a sound alternative. Instead, a wise investor would be likely to pursue other more flexible, higher-return investment vehicles, or to still simply save the money until the investment climate becomes more favorable.