Per @Cory, C: Rich people are fine living off of interest (1 percent of 1 BILLION dollars is still 10 million dollars just for having an account somewhere)
Mathematically true, but "rich people" don't really live on interest. They live on income producing assets in the broadest sense.
Per @Cory, C: But as you know, percentages scale. It doesn't seem like there are any 100% safe ways to store your money that keeps up with inflation/cost of living increases each year (5%). Or is there?
I think you're on the right track, but I find that you aren't asking some important questions. Might you wonder why there is inflation? Although recent data suggests that U.S. core inflation rate is 1.6%, I wonder what situation your in that makes it feel like 5% (Could be your living in a more expensive state)? There are many factors and honestly asking a lot of questions will get you to the right answer. Basically we should use the Scientific Method even on finance.
Per Cory, C: Would love to know something that is safe that still earns money or at least keeps up with inflation for amounts $100,000 and under.
Not knowing your particular situation, I have only added more questions thus far. Still I don't want to leave this post without any legitimate information. So I suggest you look into TIPS: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/tips.asp
Also if you're going to put in some work use the following site: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/
Chase after bonuses and high yield interest rates of banks.
None of these options will bring in 5% because as said previously that the U.S. Core inflation rate is currently at about 1.6% so I wouldn't expect anything significantly higher than 1.6%.
Per @Shannon P It seems that way ! The rich get richer and the poor get poorer
I'm glad you used the word seems. More often than not people have the mindset that they will never be rich. Now it's true for the most part that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, but that is due to a lack of opportunity and education. Though it may be hard for the vast majority of us, we still can use the principals of the rich to grow our money and eventually move up in life.