Inflation is the idea of prices accross the board going up. If you've experienced prices going up that does not indicate inflation. The second statement can only be true if your expereince is unrepresentative of the wider population for which you are discussing inflation. That wider population is usually considered to be people paid in the same currency.

Well I guess wages usually go up for the same kind of job with the same experience when there's considered to be "inflation" and that really hasn't happened. Prices. Yes, they've gone up consistently, haven't we all seen the hard reality of that? And they show no signs of doing anything else. Price indexes used as a proxy measure of inflation may not be capturing that reality. Is it deliberate that the measure is failing to capture the reality? Or is it just poor baskets of goods and services in the index and a lack of will and talent to correct the issue? Anyone arguing about index values and what they mean still has to have a roof over their head quite literally at the end of the day. That has a cost. I haven't noticed the cost going down over any 5 year period. Then look at the cost of eating. Then the captial equipment you need for your job and to be able to pay required bills (some of clothes, vehicle, computing devices). Then look at essential consumables (some of fuel, food, electricity, telecomunications).

I can't see anything other than high inflation and a decrease in disposable income. Note that if you get promoted and get a raise for a new position the reference is how much /that position/ was paid previously not what you were paid fresh out of $whatever.

I don't ever see a measurement that reflects the reality we all see, experience and have to budget in inflation discussions in finance nor do I see a justification of why it's just plain wrong and in so far as these numbers represent anything they represent something else entirely other than the purchasing power of a dollar in your pocket this year as opposed some time in the past.

Rent and food prices have increased dramatically in the last 10 years, at least in urban / suburban areas. For consumer goods, shrinkflation has led to a huge decrease in product longevity, meaning I need to replace items more frequently. If the price for e.g. a toaster or blender has stayed the same but I need to replace it twice as often, then I'm really paying twice as much.