Lesson 17 Money

There are a lot of things you can do with money!

First, you need to earn money or make money – both of these verbs refer to receiving money from your work. Another way to obtain money is to inherit money – receive money from a family member or friend after that person dies. If the person was very rich, you could inherit a fortune (a fortune is a lot of money).

You can take your money to the bank and make a deposit – put money into your bank account. Later, you can make a withdrawal – remove money from your bank account. Of course, everyone likes to spend money – use money to buy things – but it’s important not to waste/squander your money. These verbs refer to using money in a way that’s not productive.

If money is tight (meaning you have very little money), you should make a budget – a plan for how much to spend on things every month – and then you need to stick to the budget (continue following the plan). Otherwise, you might be broken by the end of the month! Someone who is “broke” has no money available.

A person who is financially savvy (intelligent, perceptive, and well-informed on the subject of money) will always save money. It’s a good idea to have an emergency fund of at least 3-6 months of living expenses (the amount money you use to survive in everyday life). You can also invest money in the stock market – you could make a nice profit, but there’s also the risk of losing money if the economy goes downhill (starts to get worse).

Let’s say you want to purchase an expensive item like a car. If you haven’t saved up money or set aside money for the purchase, you can borrow money from the bank – which is also called taking out a loan. The disadvantage of this is that you’ll need to pay the money back in installments – plus interest (extra money).

When you travel, you’ll need to change/exchange money to be able to buy things with the local currency. Make sure to change money only at official locations like banks and travel agencies – otherwise, you could be tricked into receiving counterfeit bills (false paper money that is not legally valid).

Finally, you can consider donating money (giving money without receiving anything in return) to a good cause, such as preserving the environment or researching cures for diseases. Non-profit organizations are always trying to raise money (get donations) for their various projects.

Lesson 17 Money
Quiz

Choose the best word to complete each sentence:

1. I lent Bill $20; he says he’ll pay / spend me back next week.
2. Excuse me, it’s none of your business how much money I get / make.
3. Greenpeace raised / rose five million dollars to help preserve the Atlantic rainforest.
4. How much of my income should I inherit / invest, and how much should I put into savings?
5. I can’t believe I ruined / wasted $10 on a calculator that doesn’t even work!
6. I didn’t have enough savings to pay my college tuition, so I had to pick / take out a student loan.
7. Sometimes your employer can pay your salary by doing / making a deposit directly in your bank account.
8. I really admire rich people who donate / sponsor a large portion of their wealth to charity.
9. I try not to eat out at restaurants too often; I’m trying to keep / save money.
10. Let’s exchange / replace money here at the airport so that we can get a taxi to the hotel.
11. My son earned / won $50 for taking care of the neighbor’s dogs over the weekend.
12. We need to give / make a budget so that we don’t end up spending more than we earn.