Listening Exercises A2 – You need a budget

save money        earn a good salary        keep to a budget

a   spend

b   small

c   earn

d   salary

e   enough

f   budget

g   use

Transcript

(Paul Dugan = American)

Good morning everyone. Today I’m going to talk to you about how to manage money. I’m afraid I’m not going to tell you how to get rich quick, but I will tell you some simple things you can do that will help you save more money. So, I’m going to give you five tips … simple but important advice to make sure you manage your money successfully.

Now the first point, and perhaps the most important one, is about how much you spend. It’s really important that you don’t overspend. For example, if you earn $2000 a month, don’t spend $2500. This is really simple. You have a problem if you spend more money than you earn. Spending less doesn’t have to be difficult. You can just cut back or reduce what you spend by a little, just a few small things … then it can make a big saving. Maybe just buy one cup of coffee a day, instead of two. These small changes can make a difference.

Ah, the next point is about how much you earn. It’s important that your salary is appropriate for you job. It’s OK if your employer pays you too much, but make sure he or she doesn’t pay you too little. Find out how your salary compares to other people doing the same kind of job in two or three other companies. If you’re going to work long hours or have lots of responsibility, you need to make sure you’re getting paid enough.

Er, another important point is that you need a budget. That’s a simple plan of what you spend your money on. If you have a plan, it will make saving money a lot easier. Everyone needs a budget. It doesn’t matter how much money you earn … I can’t stress this enough. Make sure you have a budget! And make sure you use it. Don’t just write it and forget about it.

a No      b Yes      c No

a   a house

b   expensive clothes, holidays, restaurants

c   credit card

d   month

e   interest

f   ten

g   year

Transcript

(Paul Dugan = American)

OK, now my fourth point is about managing your debt. Before you borrow money, think about what you are borrowing it for. It’s a good idea to borrow money to buy assets, for example, to buy a house. And it’s a good idea to pay for your education. These things will still be worth something when you have finished paying off the debt. It isn’t a good idea to borrow money for non-essentials, for example, expensive clothes, holidays or dinner at a nice restaurant.

It’s easy to use your credit card for these things, but your credit card can get you into trouble if you don’t use it properly. If you use credit cards, and I don’t recommend it, it’s important you know how much you are spending on them. Then, when the bill comes, pay the total bill every month. Don’t just pay the minimum amount, don’t just pay a little every month, don’t just pay 20 dollars a month because you will always pay more. You are paying the interest, what the credit card company adds on in internet. So at the end of the day, that watch you bought for 100 dollars, if you pay it off slowly, that watch is going to cost you double that.

And my final tip for managing your money is to plan your savings. It’s a good idea to save about ten per cent of your salary every month. include this saving in your budget and try and increase how much you save every year. You could do this by increasing what you earn or decreasing what you spend, or both! Try and focus on saving money, not just paying the bills. It’s another way of looking at things and it’s a lot more positive. So, there are five tips for managing your money successfully. They are simple but they work.