Why Do Inflation Rates Surprise Us So Much?

Imagine you have a piggy bank with $100. Every year, it gets more money, that's like inflation. But sometimes the amount of new money added is way more or less than expected, which makes people say, 'Wait, what? That’s not how it worked last time!' Inflation rates tell us how much prices go up each year. When they're different from what we think, it surprises us, kind of like when your favorite ice cream flavor disappears and a weird new one shows up instead.