While this may seem afield of the discussion, I would suggest that understanding debt, and international debt may be the best guide to planning for the future.
U.S. National Debt Clock : Real Time
Learning to use the debt clock is not easy. What seems to be simple numbers, the clocks' many tools allow for personal, household, historical, state, national, international comparisons... with eight major contributing sets of statistics (at the bottom of the clock.).
Use it not just for understanding the movement of money, but as the broader satisfaction of developing a Weltanschauung to help living in the coming years.
Inflation is always directly related to debt, but all of the connections, taken together can help to project the parts of the economy... that are changing. Personal debt, mortgages, sales, the price of gold, and a dozen other factors, looked at with the available historical comparison provide a better comprehensive overview than some simple single factor graph/charts.
A good place to learn in your spare time.