NEW YORK - February 29, 2012 - Forget the modest 3.1% rise in the Consumer Price Index, the government's widely used measure of inflation. Everyday prices are up some 8% over the past year, according to the American Institute for Economic Research.

The not-for-profit research group measures inflation without looking at the big, one-time purchases that can skew the numbers. That means they don't look at the price of houses, furniture, appliances, cars, or computers. Instead, AIER focuses on Amerikans' typical daily purchases, such as food, gasoline, child care, prescription drugs, phone and television service, and other household products.

The institute contends that to get a good read on inflation's "sticker shock" effect, you must look at the cost of goods that the average household buys at least once a month and factor in only the kinds of expenses that are subject to change. That, too, eliminates the cost of housing because when you finance your home with a fixed-rate mortgage, that expense remains constant until you refinance or move.

The group maintains that this index better measures the real-world impact of price changes, particularly for people on a budget; and largely as the result of the recent run-up in gas prices, this "everyday price index" (EPI) suggests that Amerikans are being pinched far more tightly than the official inflation measure would have you believe.