Definition

Buying something cheap in one place and selling it for more in another, which sounds like a genius strategy until you realize it's basically what your cousin does with concert tickets. Wall Street just gave it a fancier name and added decimal points.

Example Usage

"He calls himself an arbitrage specialist. His mom calls him the kid who buys candy in bulk at Costco and sells it at school."

Related Terms

Intermediate

full faith and credit

A government's unconditional guarantee to honor debt obligations using its taxing power, theoretically the safest backing possible. 'We'll tax citizens into oblivion before we default' in more dignified language.

💰 Finance / Accounting
Intermediate

rollover

The financial practice of moving money from one investment or retirement account to another without triggering tax consequences, because the IRS is generous like that. Also describes what happens to your old web design when you hover over a button, or what vehicles do in unfortunate accidents. In tech, it's that fancy effect where images change when your cursor touches them, making websites feel interactive since 1995.

💰 Finance / Accounting
Advanced

Topside Entry

A journal entry made at the corporate level above the normal operational accounting system, often used for adjustments or consolidation. It's headquarters overriding local books, sometimes legitimately, sometimes suspiciously.

💰 Finance / Accounting
Advanced

Piercing the Corporate Veil

When courts hold shareholders personally liable for corporate debts by ignoring the legal separation between company and owners. It's what happens when you treat your LLC like a personal piggy bank.

💰 Finance / Accounting
Advanced

covenant lite

Loans with few or no maintenance covenants that would normally protect lenders, essentially trusting borrowers to be responsible without supervision. It's the financial equivalent of lending your car to a teenager with no curfew.

💰 Finance / Accounting
Beginner

salvage value

The estimated value of an asset at the end of its useful life, before you actually try to sell it and discover it's worth much less. Also called residual value by optimists who think depreciation schedules reflect reality.

💰 Finance / Accounting

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