I understand your point on saving money. Switching to cheaper substitutes is accounted for in chained CPI. e.g. If steak becomes too expensive and more people b

I understand your point on saving money. Switching to cheaper substitutes is accounted for in chained CPI. e.g. If steak becomes too expensive and more people buy hamburger instead this substitution effect is accounted for in the basket of goods. It's very rare for food items to deflate. It's usually a slow monotonic upward march.