Meaning:

    “酷” is the Chinese transliteration of the English word “cool,” “抠” is short for “抠门” which means “stingy,” and “族” refers to a group of people sharing similarities. Normally those who lead a stingy life cannot be thought as cool. In today’s China, however, where inflation and high housing prices make life difficult for the middle class, people think those who can lead a simple life cool. “酷抠族” refers to those who earn handsomely but spend reasonably.

    Example:

    A: 周末去逛街买新衣服吧？

    Zhōumò qù guàngjiē mǎi xīn yīfu ba?

    How about shopping for new clothes this weekend?

    B: 今年我不打算买新衣服了。我要好好利用旧衣服，做个酷抠族。

    Jīnnián wǒ bù dǎsuàn mǎi xīn yīfu le。Wǒ yào hǎohāo lìyòng jìu yīfu, zuò ge kùkōuzú。

    I’m not buying any new dress this year. I will make a better use of my existing wardrobe and be a cool miser.

    A: 什么酷抠族？

    Shénme kùkōuzú?

    Cool miser?

    B: 就是不要奢侈和烦琐，理性消费，用最少的金钱获取最大的物质和心理满足。省下钱和时间用来读书旅游不是更好？

    Jìushì búyào shēchǐ hé fánsuǒ, lǐxìng xiāofèi, yòng zuìshǎo de jīnqián huòqǔ zuìdà de wùzhì hé xīnlǐ mǎnzú。Shěngxià qián hé shíjiān yònglái dúshū lǚyóu búshì gèng hǎo?

    A cool miser will say no to luxury and trivial things, getting the greatest satisfaction, materially and psychologically, with the least money — spent reasonably. Isn’t it better to save time and money, so that you can read and travel instead?