One of our favorite things to debate here on DQYDJ is the validity of the inflation rate. On the whole, we think that the method the government uses to track inflation is a decent gauge of the prices an 'average person' in America pays for a particular basket of goods.
That strict definition is where many of you have a problem. Who among us is a 'typical person', who spends their money in the exact proportions as the average of all Americans? Well, no one.