This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 1704.
Got sticker shock?
How to talk about rising prices in English.
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Are you seeing your grocery bill increasing?
Today, Lindsay and Michelle talk about prices going up and how to talk about this in English.
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What's up, Michelle?
What is shaking in New York City?
Not too much.
Just enjoying, you know, we just got past, you know, the Christmas time and New Year's is coming up.
So very, very exciting stuff.
A big shopping season.
Yeah, sure.
Yeah, we're in that week in between Christmas and New Year's, which is kind of fun.
It feels like a big like kind of play week.
Sometimes you know light work week and just kind of playing, having fun.
We may be in Germany and we may not be.
We don't know.
Yeah, I hope you are.
I've never been to Germany before.
And when we booked this trip, you know we were thinking by now that COVID would be taken care of, but it's not.
So we'll see what happens.
We will see.
Does Lindsay go to Germany?
We don't know.
Where in the world are you right now?
I know, I know.
Oh, man.
Well, I mean.
So Lindy, let's talk a little bit about shopping, because it is such a big shopping season.
I mean...
How confident do you feel when making a purchase?
I mean, you've made some big purchases recently.
But it could be bigger purchases or smaller research.
Smaller purchases like how much research do you do?
Do you tend to return things a lot?
That's another thing.
Oh, that's a big question, right?
Yeah, I just bought a house in Denver.
And so a lot of purchases like that, big purchases like that, are really more determined based on the market, the current market conditions, rather than any personal research.
But certainly I did research, like I know the neighborhoods of Denver and I understand the value of buying a home in Denver and all that stuff.
Other little things, I try not to think about it too much.
I rely a lot on reviews.
Yeah.
A lot of reviews, you know, Airbnb or even purchasing things on Amazon.
I think we all do.
Right, Michelle?
What's your style?
Do you analyze everything and research for weeks or what do you do?
Go with your gut?
I'm, I'm the worst.
I mean like I, I have a lot of like shopping anxiety, just like, should I get this or this, or like.
I remember you know we were getting my son a scooter and it took me like I ordered one in one color and it took me forever to decide which color to get him.
And then because there were so many choices.
Yeah.
And then I ended up canceling the order and ordering a slightly different color.
Oh, no.
And like it was like consumed my mind.
Like, you know, I was as it like and it's like ridiculous.
So like I get teased a lot by my husband.
Why do you think that happens?
Is it like just second guessing?
Or why do you think it get like once you?
Because for me, I feel a sense of relief once I make a choice.
I'm getting better at kind of saying like I made the choice.
That's it.
How have you?
Have you done anything to work on that?
Because I could use some tips.
I think it's just being so darn busy and I know you're so busy too yeah, like just being so busy, and it's like kind of a task to have to choose and do the whole thing, and by the time I order, I just don't want to think about it anymore.
I have so many other things to deal with and think about.
But you're that way.
I mean, you're so busy, So yeah.
So I don't know why I I don't know, I guess it's just a part of my personality.
I mean, yeah, you know, it's just a little nervous and quirky and not sure.
But like yeah, I mean with many purchases.
I remember when we bought our couch, like that was hard for me.
And like, Usually the bigger ones are the harder things.
I don't freak out about little purchases.
Well, buyer's remorse is a thing.
I mean, it is like a known psychological phenomenon.
And even after we bought our house, when we were doing the walkthrough, which was even before the closing.
I was kind of like, oh, like there isn't that allure anymore.
There isn't that high anymore.
Like before we didn't know if we'd get it and the other bidders and all this stuff.
And then we were so excited.
And then once we had it locked down under contract, it's a little buyer's remorse.
Like, is this the right decision?
Yeah.
So I think that's a psychological thing that happens once you attain something or once you know you can have something.
You kind of have this sense of do I really want it?
Yes.
Oh, my gosh.
That is so true.
That's so funny.
I mean guys yes, buyer's remorse is something we're going to be talking about a lot today, because we're going to be teaching you four useful shopping expressions that you can use to talk about purchases.
And these can help you connect with others for sure.
Yeah, this is good.
It's all about connection, guys, on this show.
Connection, not perfection, right?
We're going to show you how to connect around any topic in English.
And today's is shopping.
Let's get into it, Michelle.
All right.
So what's the first one, Lindsay?
Sticker shock.
And I think a lot of people right now are feeling this, especially around two things.
Gas prices in the US are insane.
And used car prices are just through the roof.
Have you bought a car lately?
I hope not because...
I haven't, and I actually, like have been considering buying one, and I would like to buy one maybe in the next few months, but I I don't think that I will be, because I've heard it's a disaster out there and so it's not like.
Luckily it's not a complete emergency or anything, so I can kind of wait it out, but I don't know how long this is going to go on for.
Yeah, no, for sure.
We'll see what happens.
Hopefully by the time this comes out, things will be calming down.
But I don't know because it's the holiday season, right?
So maybe sometime next summer.
I'm not going to buy a used car during this period.
I mean, unless it lasts for years and years, but I don't think it will.
I think supply chains will iron themselves out, you know?
Uh-huh.
Yeah.
I do think they will.
So anyway, sticker shock.
So if you're trying to buy a used car right now, you're going to have sticker shock.
Yes.
Right.
It's when something just shocks you.
It's pretty self-explanatory.
Right.
Yeah.
The sticker.
Why do you think we say sticker?
What sticker?
Because the sticker is usually the price tag that's on the car.
Maybe it's just a physical sticker that's on the item, whether it's on a car window, or whether it's on just a tiny little, I don't know.
Loaf of bread.
There's a sticker on there, too, that shows the price usually, right?
Right.
Yeah, exactly.
Exactly.
So sticker shock, you're shocked by the price.
Maybe it's, maybe there has been a huge increase, like like you mentioned Lindsay, or maybe it was just expensive to start with.
But yeah, let's hear it.
Let's do an example.
Here we go.
Um, I was about to buy that bag, but then I couldn't get over my sticker shock.
Yeah.
So have you been getting sick or shog when you've been grocery shopping?
Because I know we had the inflation in October, which was six percent.
And I almost don't want to talk about it on the show because I feel like I'm going to cause it if I talk about it.
It's such a psychological thing right um, but did you, are you feeling that on your grocery bill these days?
Sticker shock?
Yes okay, i am, i am uh, so you too, i don't know i, i don't think so so much for groceries, and i'm not buying gas because i don't really drive that much and i don't have a used car and but yeah i, so i'm not experiencing it that much Really.
Yeah, I would.
I mean, sometimes it's kind of hard to tell.
But, you know, and it depends where you shop and what you're buying.
And like it.
So it's sometimes it's hard to tell.
But I feel like I'm noticing like a general.
OK.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So hopefully we'll reverse this quickly or as long as it doesn't become I learned this term.
Embedded inflation is what they talk about when it becomes like a cycle.
That gets scary.
And I know around the world there have been issues of inflation, extreme inflation.
Right.
So our listeners, some of them can certainly identify with this for sure.
So very interesting.
Right.
Okay, let's get back to the vocab, Michelle.
Yeah.
Well, I mean, but Lindsay, when was the last time you had sticker shock?
Like, did you... Well, so you said about the used cars, things like that.
Yeah, I think just the the price of housing in denver, i mean just the price of real estate, is just nuts right now all over the country, probably the world.
It's just insane the way home values are just skyrocketing.
We don't know why, we don't know what it's based on, Right.
Oh, my gosh.
Oh, my gosh.
Let's hope it improves.
So, all right.
The next one is what we were talking about, this buyer's remorse.
So, what is buyer's remorse?
Let's break it down.
So, like we said, as soon as we got our houses walking through and thinking...
Maybe I'm not so sure.
I'm not so excited about it anymore.
Or maybe I'm second guessing my choice.
So you feel bad or you feel nervous about a purchase once you've pulled the trigger on it and you've decided to get it.
Right, right, right.
So yeah, so you definitely have experienced this feeling.
I get it all the time, like I said.
I mean, sometimes it can be used to talk about things other than shopping, right?
It's not just like a decision you've made.
Yeah, maybe a job.
Right.
Yeah.
A job.
So this one you might hear in other contexts as well, just like about a big decision.
And then you're like second guessing it.
A hundred percent.
Or maybe you decide to move to a certain city and then you have buyer's remorse, even though you didn't buy the city.
This is an important point for our listeners, for high level listeners.
It's not always about things you buy.
Right.
You could use this more figuratively and say, oh, I moved from L.A. to Tennessee.
I'm having buyer's remorse because it's rainy every day.
That's kind of interesting, an interesting way to use that term.
Right, right, right.
So this one is very, you know, diverse in that way.
So it's not always if you hear it about.
If you hear it in that way, just know, like it's not, that you didn't buy Tennessee.
Yeah, no, no, no.
So it can be used that way.
But yeah, I know Dan just I get teased all the time for my buyer's remorse.
I think he said that it's my middle name or something.
Does Dan have that?
Or is he just like, okay, we did it.
It's done.
It's over.
Don't think about it.
Oh, yeah.
No, we're a good match in that way.
Because if I were with someone who also was like me like that, nothing would ever get done.
And yeah.
Interesting.
Yeah.
Yeah.
No, you guys, you have to be opposites in that sense.
That's important.
Yes.
I agree.
It's very important.
So yeah, I mean, so Lindsay, I could say to you, don't worry, the couch is great.
You just have a little buyer's remorse.
And it's also that feeling like okay.
So I don't know if I had this with my couch but, like you know, I was talking on the couch.
So like, you get the couch and then you sit on it and you think...
You know, once it's in your house oh like, do you ever have that where you're like?
Oh, it doesn't feel as comfortable as I thought.
Or I didn't notice this in the store.
And you know it's like.
Then you start to like yeah, I you know, especially with something like that.
I think also with like a mattress.
Oh, yeah.
You know, because it takes a little while to kind of break it in.
Oh, for sure.
This can happen with anything.
It's dangerous.
But there's something like it's, almost like it's maybe it's a mindfulness practice where we make the decision and then we get centered in the fact that we did our very best.
Right.
We made the decision based on all the information we had at the time.
Yeah.
And then we just try to move on.
I think it's kind of a practice, like a mind practice or something.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
So the next one is coupon clipper.
Are you a coupon clipper?
No, I maybe I should be more of one.
I mean, but I'm not.
Are you?
No, I'm really not.
I don't have the patience for it.
Me either.
Some people I mean, I mean, there are like whole like.
Facebook groups and you know different things, like devoted to all these things and people are really I mean so coupon clipper, right?
A person who like, literally well, cuts out coupons of maybe the paper, but now this has changed right like, do you think we use the term coupon clipper anymore?
Like, can you use that about a person who's like, you know, with online coupons?
Well, I think well, I'm sure there still are these people who even physically do it, or online.
I know there's places you can go to find discount codes or something.
I've never been able to do that.
I've tried a few times.
Oh, it never works.
Never works.
And people always say it does.
But what I like now and I think is so much smarter than being a coupon clipper is just getting a loyalty card.
Like we have a loyalty card for... our grocery store, King Soopers.
And it's actually so good.
You just swipe the card as you're scanning your groceries and we end up getting like 10 or 15 bucks off every time.
It's fantastic.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Oh my gosh.
That's the lazy coupon clipper solution.
It's true.
And it tells you how much you saved.
Yeah.
I mean, so but I mean, coupon clippers, they can, you know, be very successful.
So like you could say, I'm a coupon clipper.
I have a huge folder full of them in my kitchen drawer.
Yeah.
I just think you're never going to like no one's going to.
Become wealthy being a coupon clipper.
You know like what have?
You took the two hours that you spent clipping coupons to save 50 cents going and starting a business, and you actually that, if that's your goal is to have money, keep money, save money, go do something else.
That's a better use of your time.
That's what I think right.
But yeah, i don't.
I don't have the patience for it either, just like you, lindsay.
It depends on what the thing is like.
I guess if you're gonna buy a huge thing yeah, that could save you a ton of money yeah yeah, then that's worth it.
So yeah yeah exactly, exactly.
But i mean also depends how much money you have.
So for some people you know that coupon is, you know a lot.
Yeah, of course, it's all relative right Yeah, exactly.
Exactly.
All right.
And so then this one is this is the last one, Lindsay.
You want to you want to share this one?
Sure.
And I'm going to say it in the accent that we say it.
You break it, you buy it.
Yeah.
You buy it.
Yep.
You have to say it like that.
You break it.
You buy it.
Yeah.
I was told this so many times when I was a kid and we would go into little antique shops around New England.
And I feel like some kind of strict old lady would always say that to me.
You break it.
You buy it, hon.
So what does that mean?
I mean, if you break something, then you still have to pay for it.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly.
So you go to any fancy shop, they may have a sign that says this.
It just means be careful, right?
Don't break anything because you have to pay for it.
Yeah.
Right.
Yeah.
You don't want to be in that situation.
So, all right.
Please be careful and don't touch the glass.
You break it, you buy it.
Exactly.
Exactly.
Oh, so crazy.
So what else, Michelle?
Well, I mean, we've talked a little bit about shopping and how it's changing in society.
I mean, Lindsay, how I mean, any thoughts on that?
Or just like in general, why or how these expressions can connect you to others?
Hmm.
Yeah.
I mean, I think, you know, you got to meet people where they're at.
If they're having buyer's remorse, they've just made a big purchase.
Have a conversation in English with that person about how they're feeling.
Don't just dismiss it and say you're being silly.
Like say, okay, how does that feel?
That's kind of an interesting way to approach connection.
You can use any of these as a conversation starter.
If they share that they're stressed out about this, start the conversation, open it up.
It could lead to really great connection.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Yeah, I agree.
You know, you can share stories.
It can be good, you know, even to connect in business and sometimes you complain.
Right.
All sorts of things.
So I mean this is I mean, I think a lot of people, I mean everyone, can connect over shopping, I think like just making purchases.
Yeah.
And everyone can connect over the economy.
I mean, the sticker shock.
You can go to work and say, oh, my God, I'm feeling real sticker shock on those gas prices.
What do you think about that?
These are conversation starters, because you're not.
You know we've said before it's a taboo to talk about how much money you have.
Yes, it is.
But this is more of a society wide thing.
Everyone is feeling sticker shock when it comes to gas prices.
So that's a great conversation starter, right?
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Should we do a role play?
Yeah, let's do it.
And then we'll finish up for today.
Here we go.
All right.
Lindsay, you are trying to sell me a TV.
Oh, boy.
Okay.
So I'm a salesperson here.
Yes, you are.
I'm a terrible salesperson.
Here we go.
Me too.
This is definitely the best TV we have.
I love it so much.
I bought one myself.
Yeah, it's honestly just a little hard to get past the sticker shock, though.
Well, don't tell anyone, but there's a deal coming up.
I'm a total coupon clipper and I saw something in the paper.
Really?
Oh, thank you so much.
I'll take a look.
If it's a good deal, I will take you up on that.
Great.
Trust me, you won't have buyer's remorse on this one.
Can I lift it to see how I would feel?
Maybe not.
You break it, you buy it.
It's super heavy.
Oh, okay.
I don't know why I wanted to lift it.
Maybe testing for moving.
I don't know.
That's funny.
That's funny.
I'm imagining like a Best Buy or something.
I'm in Best Buy.
I'm trying to...
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Exactly.
Exactly.
Exactly.
So, all right.
Well, you are a very good saleswoman here.
Oh, good.
I made the sale.
Okay, good.
Yes, probably.
So, all right.
So, I said it's hard to get past the sticker shock, though.
So, I'm saying it's expensive, right?
I could have just said, oh, it's expensive.
But this is a fun way to say it.
It's a fun way to say it.
Just be more fun.
Have more fun with language.
Right, guys.
So I'm a total coupon clipper.
And I could have added there myself.
Right.
Because I'm trying to empathize with you.
Right.
I'm a total coupon clipper myself.
And I saw something in the paper.
So that's good.
And then what else, Michelle?
What did I say?
Then you said you won't have buyer's remorse on this one.
So, yeah, you know, it sounds salesy.
Right.
What I said.
Right.
Yes, it does.
It does.
And then I said, oh, maybe not.
Can you pick it up?
Right.
Maybe not.
You break it.
You buy it.
And we always got to do the yeah there instead of you.
But it's really you break it.
You buy it.
Yeah.
Yes, exactly.
Oh my gosh.
Well, Lindsay, this was fun.
These are useful expressions dealing with shopping.
Guys, you know, try these out.
Yeah.
I mean, the episode doesn't make me, still doesn't make me want to go shopping, because I don't like shopping.
Ha ha ha, ha ha.
But for any of our listeners, if you guys love shopping, i know it's a big part.
I remember when i lived in japan, a lot of people would always say they went window shopping over the weekend.
So i know it's a big part of the culture in different places.
So go enjoy shopping this weekend and then come back and talk about it with a native speaker.
All right, Awesome.
All right.
Well, this was fun, Lindsay.
And guys, it's almost New Year's Eve.
Yes.
Almost New Year.
All right.
Sounds good, Michelle.
Talk to you soon.
Bye.
Bye.
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