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A simple example is pizzas vs burgers.
If the price of pizzas increases and the price of burgers stays the same then there has been a change in DEMAND.
If BOTH the price of Pizzas and burgers increases then we have inflation.

The Government likes to keep inflation at around 2%, any higher and there is a risk of prices spiraling out of control, and lower and there is a risk of the economy slowing down which means unemployment.

I don’t know where you’re from but in the UK the Bank of England determines the inflation rates and the current and predicted inflation rates can be found on their website.
Its also important to note that the predicted inflation rate is predicted for 12-18 months in the future. So when its announced on the news that “the bank of england has predicted inflation to rise to 5%” they mean over the next year/year and a half it is expected to reach this level.

Another important thing to know is that inflation is only at the level at which we EXPECT it to be.
Its best described with an example.
Say the Bank of England says inflation’s 4%, the Unions say that this isn’t fair, their employees need at least a 4% pay rise to take this into account, so the companies raise their prices more to account for the greater expense being paid out, so the Bank of England states that inflation is in fact 5%, because all the prices have gone up so Unions demand higher wages again, and the companies adjust their prices in turn.
This is how inflation can spiral out of control.
References :
Studied Economics at University Level.

Things such as price increases are the SYMPTOMS of inflation.. not inflation itself.

Think of it as something like this….
Good X has an initial value in terms of $5.
Money supply is increased via Fed Policies.
Good X must now raise its price to $10 in order to get the same REAL value.

Annual inflation reports are found at Bureau of Labor and Statistics. It http://data.bls.gov/PDQ/servlet/SurveyOutputServlet?data_tool=latest_numbers&series_id=CUUR0000SA0L1E&output_view=pct_12mths quotes inflation from last October to now to be 2.3%.

Inflation affects people in the short term because it takes awhile for wages to adjust to increasing inflation. That is.. inflation increases faster than the wages are able to. It is also considered a tax on your income because fiscal policy and issuing more credit (debt) devalues your dollar.

NOTE:
CPI is no longer an effective way to deal with inflation as they now exclude food and gas prices.

Another way of dealing with inflation is measuring money supply. This has become inaccurate as of lately due to M3 (a measurement) not being reported anymore by government.

A really good site for inflation novices is
http://www.inflationdata.com
happy reading
References :