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Saving Money

简体
Saving Money
省钱

Date: Sep 17 2010

Themes: Work

Grammar: Zero Conditional

Intro

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When you get a new paycheck each month, it can be tempting to go right out and blow through it all. But when the end of the month comes and the bills start arriving, you’ll wish you’d done a better job of saving. And as much fun as it is to spend money, saving can feel pretty good too, especially if you’re saving up for something specific, like a vacation. Some people try to put a little money aside each month so they can earn interest on it and have more money in the bank whenever they need it in the future. Find out if Beren and Jeff are penny pinchers or penny wasters.

每个月发薪的那一天,总是蠢蠢欲动地想要冲向各大商场,狠狠地挥霍一把;然而月末的时候,各种帐单如雪片纷至,你可能就要后悔了,你一定会希望自己当初可以更节约一点。花钱当然是很一件很快乐的事,但是节约其实更能带给你愉悦的体验,尤其是为了某些特殊的目的而存钱。比如,为一个美好的假期而存钱。有些人每个月都会攒一点钱,一来能挣些利息,二来将来急用的时候,银行账户里能有更多的钱备用。那么现在,让我们来了解一下贝伦(Beren)和杰夫(Jeff)这两位究竟是吝啬鬼还是花钱大手大脚的人吧。

Dialog

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Jeff

Jeff

Beren

Beren

Jeff:  Hey Beren, are you good at saving…saving money, or do you blow through your paychecks generally.

Beren:  I guess it depends, like if I have to, you know, save money for something special, I’m pretty good at, you know, putting it away, making sure I take a little out of each paycheck. But generally, I’m not a big…I don’t think about the future in terms of money, which is kind of bad. I’m kind of living in the moment. So like, “Ah, I want this new instrument or some records”...I don’t know, I blow through a lot of money.

Jeff:  Yeah I think I’m in the same boat. I try to live pretty conservative. Under $5.00 a day is my goal. But I can’t say I make that all the time.

Beren:  That is super…under $5.00, that’s impressive. I mean do you have a nest egg you’re working on or are you just saving for…

Jeff:  Not really.

Beren:  You just like to save money, or you’re just hoarding?

Jeff:  Trying to pay the bills, and maybe go out to eat every now and again. I think that’s what gets me.

Beren:  Yeah, totally. I mean if I have cash in my pocket, I’ll usually spend it.

 

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Discussion

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Beren likes to live in the moment. That means she doesn’t spend a lot of time thinking about the future. So she isn’t very good at saving. If she does save, it is usually so she can buy something specific, like a new instrument.

Jeff lives very conservatively. He doesn’t spend a lot of money, but he doesn’t save a lot either. He just wants to be able to pay all his bills and have enough money left over to go out to eat.

Do you like to spend money, or do you prefer to live in the moment? Is there anything special you are saving for now?

 

Comments

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wenkaixia

wenkaixia

China

i am not a punny waster but i don't save money and use up all of the money in the end of every  month,Laughingbecause i will buy what i want to buy and enjoy my life.but in fact ,to save money and have a nest egg is a good habit

11:01 AM Sep 18 2010 |

samantha90e

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

I like saving money because if I saved my money I can spend them when I like in future…:-)

09:47 AM Sep 18 2010 |

laura329

laura329

China

I wanna be a penny pincher.But it's so hard to me.I also save money for sth specific,like vacation.And it'also difficult to stick to saving.

07:44 AM Sep 18 2010 |

kotopaksi

kotopaksi

Latvia

I am for SAVING MONEY, living economically. :)

07:25 AM Sep 18 2010 |

miss_eos

miss_eos

Viet Nam

i think I'm not a penny pincher coz i always blow through all my pocket money. And i think this is a bad habit.It's time for me to change, like having a nest egg to work on. It's about time i stopped the living in the moment lifestyle.

 Now I'm working on saving a small amount to buy a new instrument. It may be a little bit difficult as, at the same time, i have to pay the tuition fees. However If i can go the distance i believe it will pay me off

 

05:17 AM Sep 18 2010 |

im_a_nucleus

Philippines

I get my paycheck every Friday and i put away sixty percent of it. I'm working on a nest egg. I'm planning on doing my Masters by mid next yr. I didn't use to be a big fan of saving, but the moment i started it kinda has given me a peace of mind. I don't mind being tagged as a penny pincher. I had had always lived in the moment, you know, blowing through my checks and half of the time I was uptight. I know most of you guys are in the same boat.

03:08 AM Sep 18 2010 |

XIAOBIN

XIAOBIN

China

if my pocket have cash,i'll spend it ….i cant save the cash unless credit card

12:40 AM Sep 18 2010 |

pokemon2003

China

I am such a penny waster and like to live in the moment, so I always blow through each penny after the pay day and struggle for paying all my bills at the end of every month. But under the current economic condition, I believe I should live conservatively and take a little money out of the paycheck in case whenever I need it in the futrue. Furthermore, I want to have enough money left over to buy a big house in the future.

09:57 PM Sep 17 2010 |

xzerx

xzerx

Turkey

The more you have the more you spend. It is the general rule for normal people.

I am not a penny pincher but i cant say i am a penny waster, too.  

09:43 PM Sep 17 2010 |

alwaysme)

alwaysme)

Turkey

ı ve liked spend money but prefering live in the moment necessary..

07:56 PM Sep 17 2010 |

yassar2010

yassar2010

Syrian Arab Republic

i lived all my life in the moment and blowed throgh a lot of money . always i heard the word's: u r a penny waster .

but after marriage i tried to have a nest egg for my kids future ,but it's hardly i do it cuz my wife a penny waster 2 and we'r in the same boat.

it's genic , i guess 

11:26 AM Sep 17 2010 |

mohamad11935

Saudi Arabia

in term of spending money I am a very money waster

every time i try to save some i can't

the money that are not spent at the end of the month are spent just before the coming pay check.

I need to change this habit but it is defficult to me

09:46 AM Sep 17 2010 |

Spinnert

Spinnert

Bahrain

well , im not the type who spends a lot of money for nothing , but i always live the moment .
i think is saving some money for the future is a good thing , u dont know what will happen to u , any emergency , i will not have to borrow money from anyone.

08:17 AM Sep 17 2010 |

Ryo

Ryo

Saudi Arabia

well i like spending money

but  whats  that live in the moment

i think this funny

i tought only kid saving money in small things

 

05:18 AM Sep 17 2010 |

johnsten

johnsten

Chile

Sometimes it is really tough to resist the temptation of blowing money through  on interesting stuff. I usually put some bucks aside to go to some amazing places or get some cutting-edge gizmos. Saving up is the only way you can get almost whatever you want as long as it's affordable , obviously that sometimes doesn't happen. Besides this, It's always great to save up money in case you need it in the future or if you had an accident or a disease, that money might save your life.

01:55 AM Sep 17 2010 |

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