New Word: More Inflation Related

Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay

New Word #115

shrinkflation: Shrinkflation is to reduce the size of a product while maintaining the price.

price gouging: According to Wikipedia, price gouging occurs when a seller increases the prices of goods, services, or commodities to a level much higher than is considered reasonable or fair.

tax holiday: A tax holiday is a governmental incentive that temporarily reduces or eliminates taxes for consumers or businesses. I didn’t even know the notion of tax holiday until I heard the news that New Jersey is unlikely to have a gas tax holiday despite the rising cost of fuel. I’ve never paid attention to various tax before, but here are some of them:

• gas tax: New Jersey’s gas tax is 43 cents per gallon. I heard of gas tax before, but I’ve never paid attention to it and I didn’t know it is 43 cents. That’s equivalent to 10% if the gas price is $4.30 per gallon.
• luxury tax: I just read in the local newspaper that Atlantic City has a luxury tax of 9%. Even renting a room in a hotel is considered a luxury and has to pay luxury tax. No wonder people are not going to Atlantic City as before. There are other casinos to visit like in Lehigh Valley or in Connecticut.
• Sales tax: It is 6.625%

negativity bias: According to Wikipedia, it means things of a more negative nature have a greater effect on one’s psychological state and processes than neutral or positive things. This explain why I tend to be pessimistic. It’s not me. It’s rather the psychology.

penny pinching: unwilling to spend or share money

Live beyond their means: to spend more money than one can afford to spend.

chrometophobia: an irrational fear that can make it difficult for you to spend money or pay your bills, even though you may be able to afford it. Well, I do hate monthly bills and I guess it is understandable that some ultra sensitive person can develop chrometophobia.

panic buying: buying large quantities of a particular product or commodity due to sudden fears of a forthcoming shortage or price increase.

groupon and slickdeals: I somehow feel that recently there are less and less coupons, and less and less sales in stores. And one small business owner asked me to help him to close his account in groupon since he can’t afford to offer coupons to his customers like before. The problem is he actually took over the store five years ago from the previous owner and the store’s groupon account belongs to the previous owner. And it is a lot of hassle to close the account as the new owner has no access to the previous owner’s information groupon demands.

cutting corners: to do something in the easiest, cheapest, or fastest way

canny and uncanny:

• canny: having or showing shrewdness and good judgment, especially in money or business matters.
• uncanny: Uncanny is not the opposite of canny. This is where the English language often tricks people like me. Uncanny means strange or mysterious, especially in an unsettling way. It is often used in phrases like uncanny resemblance.