This article is devoted to the investigations of our research team built for independent collection and examination the information about prices, ie to study the real inflation. The approach to measuring the rise in prices is based on selecting and fixing tool of economists and managers - the consumer basket which does not change during the time. On the basis of physiological consumption norms of the Institute of Nutrition (Russian Academy of medical Sciences) we made up the minimum consumer basket, ie we set annual consumption on food staples required to maintain normal functioning of the human body. In 1993-2015 we carried out an independent price collection. We obtained values of the consumer basket and inflation indices. We give the comparison with the data of official statistics. Our work is aimed at the elimination of Rosstat's monopoly in calculating the index of inflation, the minimum subsistence level and the real disposable income of the population. Using the same consumer basket makes it possible to compare the results of calculations for different time periods. That is why our works compare favorably to the approach of the official statistics. We have given a more detailed analysis of inflation in the XXI century. We have also briefly reviewed the use of inflation indices in the analysis of problems of households, organizations and production firms, as well as the country as a whole