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Treasury inflation-protected securities offer meager interest: 0.9% on 10-year issues, versus 3.2% on standard bonds of the same duration. The tradeoff, of course, is that the principal is adjusted for the rate of inflation, keeping investors current with the cost of living, right?

Maybe not. The inflation measure underpinning TIPS has shown a 3.2% price increase over the past year. That's the biggest increase since October 2008, and it's higher than the 2.4% average for rolling 12-month periods since 2000. But gasoline now costs U.S. drivers 38% more than a year ago, according to the Department of Energy. Employer health care costs are poised to rise 8.5% next year, according to a recent report by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Butter--humble butter--is up 23% in a year. Who's to tell a long-distance-driving, health-plan-sponsoring, butter-loving business owner that his costs have climbed only 3.2% in a year?

Cynics have long argued that government inflation statistics are rigged to understate cost increases. I find little evidence for that claim. But no inflation measure can track the cost of living for everyone using the same basket of goods and services. A family putting two kids through public college, the cost of which has increased at more than three times the rate of inflation over the past decade, probably won't care that bananas have gotten cheaper over the past three years. A childless vegan might.

Here's an alternative for investors seeking inflation protection: shares of companies whose goods and services we spend plenty on. Soaring prescription costs will be a little easier to swallow is shares of your drug maker are rising, too. Pumping gas might feel like less of a loss if your oil driller's stock is pumping out quarterly payments. Below are three candidates with dividend yields over 3%, or more than triple the yield on those 10-year TIPS. And whereas TIPS coupons are locked in for the life of the bonds, dividends for these companies have grown in recent years.

ConocoPhillips

Dividend yield: 3.7%

ConocoPhillips (COP) shares have climbed 58% in two years, besting shares of rivals like Exxon Mobil (MOB) and those of large U.S. companies in general. Oil's price increase explains only part of the company's recent prosperity. Management is about halfway through a restructuring program that involves selling low-margin refining capacity, reducing debt, returning cash to shareholders and increasing returns. Last year the company spent more on share repurchases than on dividends, meaning the stock's 3.7% dividend yield was really a 7%-plus net payout yield. This year analysts expect ConocoPhillips to spend nearly $11 billion on share repurchases, versus about $3.6 billion on dividends.

Johnson & Johnson

Dividend Yield: 3.4%

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) have been battered by manufacturing problems leading to recalls for a long list of products, including Tylenol, Benadryl and Rolaids. European austerity measures have also cut into the company's drug and medical device businesses. Overall sales have declined over the past two years. This year, however, sales are expected to rebound 6% as replacements for recalled products make their way to stores. Once-pricey J&J shares now sell for 13 times earnings, a discount of 15% or so to the broad market.

Public Storage

Dividend yield: 3.2%

Public Storage (PSA) is a real estate investment trust, which means it passes the bulk of income from its holdings, self-service storage facilities, to investors as dividends. Real estate and rents are subject to inflation, which means Public Storage should be able to keep up with rising consumer prices. Historically, it has far surpassed them. Over the past two decades, shareholders have received gradually rising dividends to accompany a 25-fold increase in their stock value. The company's fastest growth days are likely behind it, but current trends bode well. Occupancy rates and average rents have risen of late, and management recently boosted the dividend payment by nearly one-fifth.