×

Usamos cookies para ayudar a mejorar LingQ. Al visitar este sitio, aceptas nuestras politicas de cookie.


image

Oxford Online English, How to Talk About Money in English - Spoken English Lesson

How to Talk About Money in English - Spoken English Lesson

Hi, I'm Kasia.

Welcome to Oxford Online English!

In this lesson, you're going to learn how to talk about money in English.

You'll learn useful English words and phrases to talk about common money topics such as your

spending habits, salary, borrowing money, and more.

But wait, is it okay to talk about money?

Maybe you heard someone say that it can be rude to talk about money in the UK or in the

US.

Sometimes it's not appropriate.

For example, it's generally not acceptable to ask someone how much they earn.

However, people talk about money all the time; in this lesson you'll see how to talk about

money in a natural way in English.

You're going on holiday again?!

How can you afford it?

I can barely pay my rent each month.

Well, I've been saving up for it.

How do you do it?

I make a budget for each week, so I decide how much I can spend, and what I can spend

money on.

That way, I know how much I'll save.

But how does it work?

I'm pretty careful with my money, but I find it really difficult to save much.

It's the little expenses that add up.

You buy a bottle of water here, a sandwich there, a takeaway pizza in the evening…

They don't cost much, but over time you end up spending more than you realise.

I guess you're right.

But, how do you stick to it?

Don't you just want to have a takeaway pizza once in a while?

Ask yourself: which would you rather have?

Most people waste a lot of money on things they don't really want.

I really love travelling, so I'm happy to cut back on some less important things so

that I can pay for it.

You're right, but I don't think I could be that frugal.

I'm not a big spender or anything, but I really enjoy splashing out and treating myself

occasionally.

Here's a question: can you name three things you can do with money?

You heard a lot of useful phrases in the dialogue.

Of course, you can spend money.

You can also save money or waste money.

You spend money on something.

For example:

I don't spend much on food.

He spends a lot of money on gadgets and technology.

How much do you spend on rent every month?

You can use waste money in the same way:

They waste a lot of money on things they don't need.

Someone who spends a lot is a big spender.

The opposite?

Someone who spends very little money is frugal.

These words are neutral; they don't have positive or negative associations.

What about save money?

You can save for something, or you can save to do something.

Often, instead of saying save money, you can use the phrasal verb save up, which has the

same meaning.

For example:

I'm saving up for a holiday next year.

We're saving up to buy a car.

In order to save money, you can make a budget: you make a spending plan, and write down everything

you spend so that you stick to your plan.

If you're saving for something, you might need to cut back on other things, meaning

that you spend less than usual.

On the other hand, some people aren't so good at saving.

Some people like to splash out; they spend money on things they enjoy.

You can also treat yourself, by spending more money than you usually would in order to do

something nice for yourself.

What about you?

Are you a big spender, or are you more frugal?

Do you find it easy to make a budget and save money, or do you like to splash out and treat

yourself?

Think about these questions and how you could answer them.

If you aren't sure, remember that you can go back and review the dialogue and the explanations

again.

Let's move on.

So, I'm thinking of moving to London.

I got a job offer, but I'm not sure about the salary.

It sounds good, but I've heard London is expensive, so I'm not sure.

I guess it depends on your lifestyle, but you definitely need more than in other places.

My friends who live in London all make decent money, but they don't have much left over

at the end of the month.

Mostly, they're just getting by.

They offered me 25k.

That would be okay in most places I've lived, but I'm not sure I'll be able to make

ends meet in London.

It'll be challenging!

That's on the low side, for sure.

Put it this way: I know someone who makes around 45k, and she says she struggles in

London.

Anywhere else, you'd be very well-off making that sort of money.

Hmm…

I guess I'll look for something better.

In most English-speaking countries, people talk about annual salaries: the amount you

make each year.

Also, it's normal to talk about the amount before tax.

For example, ‘25k' in the dialogue means 25,000 pounds per year before tax.

In case you're wondering, the average salary in London is around 29,000 pounds per year,

while the average cost of living for a family of four is around 4,000 pounds per month,

assuming a comfortable but fairly basic lifestyle.

If your salary is higher than average, you can say you make good money or make decent

money.

In this case, you'll probably be well-off: not rich, but with enough money to have a

nice lifestyle and not worry about money.

On the other hand, if you only just make enough to cover your costs, you can say you're

just getting by.

This means that you have enough money to live, but not much more.

If you say, I'm just getting by, it suggests you don't have a lot of extra money to spend

on eating in restaurants, going out, travelling, and so on.

For example:

I don't earn a lot, but I get by.

--> Meaning: I make enough to pay all my bills, but I don't have much spare money.

If someone doesn't even make enough to cover their basic expenses, like rent, bills, food

and transport, then they are struggling.

You can also use the phrase make ends meet, which you heard in the dialogue.

Do you know what it means?

Make ends meet means to cover all of your expenses.

Let's see some examples:

I can barely make ends meet.

He's struggling to make ends meet.

I don't know how we'd make ends meet if we had another child.

If you say that someone can barely make ends meet, you mean that they don't earn much

money, and so it's difficult for them to pay all their bills and cover their regular

expenses.

What salary do you need to make to get by where you live?

How much does someone need to make to be well-off?

Think about these questions and how you would answer them.

Let's look at the next section.

Did you hear?

He might lose his house.

He told me he's six months behind on his mortgage payments.

Seriously?

I knew he was in debt, but I had no idea it was that bad.

He has other loans too, apparently.

The car, the furniture: everything was bought on credit.

He has three or four credit cards, all maxed out.

He owes a lot of money.

What's he going to do?

Well, he can't even keep up with the interest, let alone the actual repayments.

He'll have to declare bankruptcy, but he'll lose everything.

That's awful.

Of course, he should have been more responsible, but how could they lend him so much money?

They must have known he wouldn't be able to pay it back.

I don't know.

It's a bad situation.

When you borrow money from the bank, you take out a loan.

If you're borrowing money to buy a house or an apartment, there's a special word

for it: mortgage.

The spelling is strange, so practice the pronunciation: mortgage.

You need to repay a loan.

Generally, you do this by making payments every month.

Some of the payment is interest: an extra percentage which you pay to the bank.

When you finish paying back a loan, you pay it off.

If you have a lot of loans, then you're in debt.

This means you owe money.

In the dialogue, you heard the phrase he owes a lot of money.

Let's look at some more examples with this language:

It'll take us another ten years to pay off our mortgage.

The interest on our car loan is ridiculously high.

I never borrow money; I don't like being in debt.

In the dialogue, we were talking about someone who had bought a lot of things on credit.

If you buy something on credit, you take out a loan just to buy this one thing.

We also mentioned that he has maxed out credit cards.

You max out a credit card when you borrow the maximum amount you can on it.

Finally, if you can't pay back your debts, you'll have to declare bankruptcy.

Your debts are cancelled, but you also lose anything you have which is worth money.

So, think about some questions: have you ever taken out a loan or bought something on credit?

In your country, if someone is in a lot of debt, can they declare bankruptcy?

What happens to the money they owe?

Again, think about how you would answer these questions, and review the dialogue and the

explanations if you need to.

Ready to move on?

Let's talk about one more thing.

Can I tell you something?

What?

I'm so excited!

I'm going to be rich!

Really?

How's that?

I found this article online.

It told me about all of these shares which are definitely going to go up very soon.

I bought as many as I could.

Now I just have to sit back and wait for the money to come rolling in.

Are you sure about this?

How much did you put in?

All the savings I had.

And…

Are you sure that's a good idea?

Why not?

These shares will take off, and I'll double or triple my money.

It's easy.

What if they go down?

You could lose everything!

It's not likely.

These companies are solid.

It's a one-way bet!

So, which companies did you invest in?

Well, one was… er… .and then… er…

I can't actually remember the names, but it's very exciting stuff.

Biotech, you know?

Oh, really?

Well, good luck.

You can buy me dinner when you've made your first million.

Deal!

What can you do with your savings?

You can keep them in the bank in a savings account, but you won't earn much interest.

Alternatively, you can invest in something, like shares, bonds, or funds.

You can say shares or stocks; both have the same meaning.

You say stock market, but in other cases, share is more common.

You can invest in or put money into something.

More informally, you can also get into something.

For example:

Do you think I should get into crypto?

He put half of his savings into government bonds.

You should only invest in shares if you know what you're buying.

When you buy an asset, like a share or a bond, its price can go up or down.

If it goes up very far or fast, you can say it takes off.

If it goes down very fast, it crashes.

For example:

I bought Apple shares in 1989.

I knew they'd take off one day!

They lost a lot of money when the stock market crashed in 2008.

If you do well, you might double or triple your money.

Triple means you increase something three times; for example, if you turn 100 dollars

into 300 dollars.

If you don't do well, you could lose everything or get wiped out.

If you get wiped out, you lose all of the money you invested.

Let's look at some example sentences:

If you make 7 per cent a year, you can double your money in ten years.

He put his life savings into Enron shares, then got completely wiped out.

If you had savings to invest, what would you invest in?

Think about how you would answer.

Finally, we have one more question for you: some people say that money can't buy happiness.

Do you agree with this idea?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Don't forget to check out our website for more great free English lessons: Oxford Online

English dot com.

Thanks for watching!

See you next time!

How to Talk About Money in English - Spoken English Lesson Wie man auf Englisch über Geld spricht - Spoken English Lesson Cómo hablar de dinero en inglés - Lección de inglés hablado Comment parler d'argent en anglais - Leçon d'anglais parlé Come parlare di soldi in inglese - Lezione di inglese parlato 英語でお金について話すには? Praten over geld in het Engels - Gesproken les Engels Jak rozmawiać o pieniądzach po angielsku - lekcja mówionego angielskiego Como falar de dinheiro em inglês - Lição de inglês falado Как говорить о деньгах на английском языке - Урок разговорного английского языка İngilizce Para Hakkında Nasıl Konuşulur - Konuşma İngilizcesi Dersi Як говорити про гроші англійською - урок розмовної англійської 如何用英语谈钱 - 英语口语课程

Hi, I'm Kasia.

Welcome to Oxford Online English!

In this lesson, you're going to learn how to talk about money in English.

You'll learn useful English words and phrases to talk about common money topics such as your

spending habits, salary, borrowing money, and more. Ausgabengewohnheiten, Gehalt, Kreditaufnahme und mehr. hábitos de gasto, salario, préstamos, etc.

But wait, is it okay to talk about money? Aber Moment, ist es in Ordnung, über Geld zu sprechen?

Maybe you heard someone say that it can be rude to talk about money in the UK or in the Vielleicht haben Sie schon einmal gehört, dass es im Vereinigten Königreich oder in den USA unhöflich sein kann, über Geld zu sprechen.

US.

Sometimes it's not appropriate.

For example, it's generally not acceptable to ask someone how much they earn.

However, people talk about money all the time; in this lesson you'll see how to talk about

money in a natural way in English.

You're going on holiday again?! Du fährst wieder in den Urlaub?!

How can you afford it? Wie können Sie es sich leisten? ¿Cómo puede permitírselo?

I can barely pay my rent each month. Ich kann jeden Monat kaum meine Miete bezahlen.

Well, I've been saving up for it. Nun, ich habe dafür gespart. Bueno, he estado ahorrando para ello.

How do you do it? Wie machen Sie das?

I make a budget for each week, so I decide how much I can spend, and what I can spend Ich stelle für jede Woche ein Budget auf und entscheide dann, wie viel ich ausgeben kann und was ich ausgeben darf. Hago un presupuesto para cada semana, así decido cuánto puedo gastar, y qué puedo gastar

money on. Geld auf.

That way, I know how much I'll save. Auf diese Weise weiß ich, wie viel ich sparen werde.

But how does it work? Aber wie funktioniert das?

I'm pretty careful with my money, but I find it really difficult to save much. Ich gehe ziemlich sparsam mit meinem Geld um, aber ich finde es wirklich schwierig, viel zu sparen.

It's the little expenses that add up. Es sind die kleinen Ausgaben, die sich summieren.

You buy a bottle of water here, a sandwich there, a takeaway pizza in the evening… Sie kaufen eine Flasche Wasser hier, ein Sandwich dort, eine Pizza zum Mitnehmen am Abend...

They don't cost much, but over time you end up spending more than you realise. Sie kosten nicht viel, aber mit der Zeit gibt man mehr aus, als man denkt.

I guess you're right. Ich denke, Sie haben Recht.

But, how do you stick to it? Aber wie hält man sich daran? Pero, ¿cómo cumplirlo?

Don't you just want to have a takeaway pizza once in a while? Haben Sie nicht auch ab und zu Lust auf eine Pizza zum Mitnehmen?

Ask yourself: which would you rather have? Fragen Sie sich: Was wäre Ihnen lieber? Pregúntese: ¿qué prefiere?

Most people waste a lot of money on things they don't really want. Die meisten Menschen verschwenden viel Geld für Dinge, die sie eigentlich gar nicht wollen.

I really love travelling, so I'm happy to cut back on some less important things so Ich reise wirklich gerne, deshalb bin ich froh, wenn ich bei einigen weniger wichtigen Dingen Abstriche machen kann.

that I can pay for it.

You're right, but I don't think I could be that frugal. Sie haben recht, aber ich glaube nicht, dass ich so sparsam sein könnte.

I'm not a big spender or anything, but I really enjoy splashing out and treating myself Ich gebe nicht viel Geld aus, aber ich genieße es, mir etwas zu gönnen und mich zu verwöhnen. No soy una gran derrochadora ni nada por el estilo, pero me encanta gastar y darme un capricho.

occasionally.

Here's a question: can you name three things you can do with money?

You heard a lot of useful phrases in the dialogue.

Of course, you can spend money. Natürlich können Sie Geld ausgeben.

You can also save money or waste money.

You spend money on something. Sie geben Geld für etwas aus.

For example:

I don't spend much on food. Ich gebe nicht viel für Lebensmittel aus.

He spends a lot of money on gadgets and technology. Er gibt viel Geld für technische Spielereien und Technologie aus.

How much do you spend on rent every month? Wie viel geben Sie jeden Monat für die Miete aus?

You can use waste money in the same way: Auf die gleiche Weise können Sie auch Geld verschwenden:

They waste a lot of money on things they don't need. Sie verschwenden eine Menge Geld für Dinge, die sie nicht brauchen.

Someone who spends a lot is a big spender. Jemand, der viel ausgibt, ist ein großer Verschwender.

The opposite?

Someone who spends very little money is frugal. Jemand, der sehr wenig Geld ausgibt, ist sparsam.

These words are neutral; they don't have positive or negative associations. Diese Wörter sind neutral; sie haben weder positive noch negative Assoziationen.

What about save money? Wie wäre es mit Geld sparen?

You can save for something, or you can save to do something. Man kann für etwas sparen, oder man kann sparen, um etwas zu tun.

Often, instead of saying save money, you can use the phrasal verb save up, which has the Anstatt zu sagen, dass man Geld spart, kann man auch das phrasale Verb sparen verwenden, das die Bedeutung

same meaning.

For example:

I'm saving up for a holiday next year.

We're saving up to buy a car.

In order to save money, you can make a budget: you make a spending plan, and write down everything Um Geld zu sparen, können Sie ein Budget erstellen: Sie machen einen Ausgabenplan und schreiben alles auf

you spend so that you stick to your plan. die Sie ausgeben, damit Sie sich an Ihren Plan halten. que gastas para que te ciñas a tu plan.

If you're saving for something, you might need to cut back on other things, meaning Wenn Sie für etwas sparen, müssen Sie vielleicht bei anderen Dingen Abstriche machen, d. h. Si estás ahorrando para algo, puede que tengas que recortar en otras cosas, es decir

that you spend less than usual. dass Sie weniger ausgeben als sonst.

On the other hand, some people aren't so good at saving. Andererseits sind manche Menschen nicht so gut im Sparen.

Some people like to splash out; they spend money on things they enjoy. Manche Menschen geben ihr Geld gerne für Dinge aus, die ihnen Spaß machen.

You can also treat yourself, by spending more money than you usually would in order to do Sie können sich auch etwas gönnen, indem Sie mehr Geld ausgeben, als Sie es normalerweise tun würden, um

something nice for yourself.

What about you?

Are you a big spender, or are you more frugal? Geben Sie viel Geld aus, oder sind Sie eher sparsam?

Do you find it easy to make a budget and save money, or do you like to splash out and treat Fällt es Ihnen leicht, ein Budget zu erstellen und Geld zu sparen, oder geben Sie gerne Geld aus und gönnen sich

yourself?

Think about these questions and how you could answer them.

If you aren't sure, remember that you can go back and review the dialogue and the explanations

again.

Let's move on.

So, I'm thinking of moving to London. Ich überlege also, nach London zu ziehen.

I got a job offer, but I'm not sure about the salary. Ich habe ein Stellenangebot erhalten, aber ich bin mir über das Gehalt nicht sicher.

It sounds good, but I've heard London is expensive, so I'm not sure.

I guess it depends on your lifestyle, but you definitely need more than in other places.

My friends who live in London all make decent money, but they don't have much left over Meine Freunde, die in London leben, verdienen alle gutes Geld, aber sie haben nicht viel übrig. Mis amigos que viven en Londres ganan bastante dinero, pero no les sobra mucho.

at the end of the month.

Mostly, they're just getting by. Meistens kommen sie gerade so über die Runden.

They offered me 25k. Sie haben mir 25.000 angeboten.

That would be okay in most places I've lived, but I'm not sure I'll be able to make An den meisten Orten, an denen ich bisher gelebt habe, wäre das in Ordnung, aber ich bin mir nicht sicher, ob ich es schaffen werde.

ends meet in London. in London über die Runden kommen.

It'll be challenging!

That's on the low side, for sure. Das ist mit Sicherheit zu wenig.

Put it this way: I know someone who makes around 45k, and she says she struggles in Sagen wir es mal so: Ich kenne jemanden, der etwa 45.000 verdient, und sie sagt, dass sie sich in der Stadt abmüht. Pongámoslo así: Conozco a alguien que gana alrededor de 45k, y ella dice que lucha en

London.

Anywhere else, you'd be very well-off making that sort of money. Woanders würde man mit so viel Geld sehr gut leben können. En cualquier otro lugar, estarías muy bien ganando ese dinero.

Hmm…

I guess I'll look for something better. Ich denke, ich werde mich nach etwas Besserem umsehen.

In most English-speaking countries, people talk about annual salaries: the amount you In den meisten englischsprachigen Ländern spricht man von Jahresgehältern: der Betrag, den man

make each year. jedes Jahr machen.

Also, it's normal to talk about the amount before tax. Außerdem ist es üblich, über den Betrag vor Steuern zu sprechen.

For example, ‘25k' in the dialogue means 25,000 pounds per year before tax. Zum Beispiel bedeutet "25k" im Dialog 25.000 Pfund pro Jahr vor Steuern.

In case you're wondering, the average salary in London is around 29,000 pounds per year, Falls Sie sich wundern: Das Durchschnittsgehalt in London beträgt etwa 29.000 Pfund pro Jahr,

while the average cost of living for a family of four is around 4,000 pounds per month, während die durchschnittlichen Lebenshaltungskosten für eine vierköpfige Familie etwa 4.000 Pfund pro Monat betragen,

assuming a comfortable but fairly basic lifestyle. unter der Annahme eines komfortablen, aber recht einfachen Lebensstils.

If your salary is higher than average, you can say you make good money or make decent

money.

In this case, you'll probably be well-off: not rich, but with enough money to have a

nice lifestyle and not worry about money. einen schönen Lebensstil zu führen und sich keine Sorgen um Geld zu machen.

On the other hand, if you only just make enough to cover your costs, you can say you're Wenn Sie hingegen nur gerade genug verdienen, um Ihre Kosten zu decken, können Sie sagen, Sie seien

just getting by. gerade so durchkommen.

This means that you have enough money to live, but not much more. Das bedeutet, dass Sie genug Geld zum Leben haben, aber nicht viel mehr.

If you say, I'm just getting by, it suggests you don't have a lot of extra money to spend Wenn Sie sagen: "Ich komme gerade so über die Runden", deutet das darauf hin, dass Sie nicht viel zusätzliches Geld zur Verfügung haben.

on eating in restaurants, going out, travelling, and so on.

For example:

I don't earn a lot, but I get by. Ich verdiene nicht viel, aber ich komme über die Runden.

--> Meaning: I make enough to pay all my bills, but I don't have much spare money. --> Significado: Gano lo suficiente para pagar todas mis facturas, pero no me sobra mucho dinero.

If someone doesn't even make enough to cover their basic expenses, like rent, bills, food

and transport, then they are struggling. und Transport, dann haben sie es schwer.

You can also use the phrase make ends meet, which you heard in the dialogue. Sie können auch die Formulierung "über die Runden kommen" verwenden, die Sie im Dialog gehört haben.

Do you know what it means?

Make ends meet means to cover all of your expenses. Über die Runden kommen bedeutet, dass Sie alle Ihre Ausgaben decken können.

Let's see some examples:

I can barely make ends meet. Ich komme kaum über die Runden.

He's struggling to make ends meet. Er kämpft, um über die Runden zu kommen.

I don't know how we'd make ends meet if we had another child. Ich weiß nicht, wie wir über die Runden kommen würden, wenn wir noch ein Kind bekämen.

If you say that someone can barely make ends meet, you mean that they don't earn much Wenn Sie sagen, dass jemand kaum über die Runden kommt, meinen Sie, dass er nicht viel verdient.

money, and so it's difficult for them to pay all their bills and cover their regular

expenses.

What salary do you need to make to get by where you live? Wie viel müssen Sie verdienen, um dort, wo Sie leben, über die Runden zu kommen?

How much does someone need to make to be well-off? Wie viel muss jemand verdienen, um wohlhabend zu sein?

Think about these questions and how you would answer them.

Let's look at the next section.

Did you hear?

He might lose his house. Er könnte sein Haus verlieren.

He told me he's six months behind on his mortgage payments.

Seriously? Ernsthaft?

I knew he was in debt, but I had no idea it was that bad. Ich wusste, dass er verschuldet war, aber ich hatte keine Ahnung, dass es so schlimm war.

He has other loans too, apparently. Offenbar hat er auch noch andere Kredite. Al parecer, también tiene otros préstamos.

The car, the furniture: everything was bought on credit.

He has three or four credit cards, all maxed out.

He owes a lot of money. Er schuldet eine Menge Geld. Debe mucho dinero.

What's he going to do? Was wird er tun?

Well, he can't even keep up with the interest, let alone the actual repayments. Er kann nicht einmal die Zinsen zahlen, geschweige denn die Rückzahlungen. Ni siquiera puede seguir pagando los intereses, por no hablar de los reembolsos reales.

He'll have to declare bankruptcy, but he'll lose everything. Er wird Konkurs anmelden müssen, aber er wird alles verlieren.

That's awful.

Of course, he should have been more responsible, but how could they lend him so much money? Natürlich hätte er verantwortungsvoller sein müssen, aber wie konnten sie ihm so viel Geld leihen?

They must have known he wouldn't be able to pay it back. Sie müssen gewusst haben, dass er nicht in der Lage sein würde, das Geld zurückzuzahlen.

I don't know.

It's a bad situation.

When you borrow money from the bank, you take out a loan. Wenn Sie sich Geld bei der Bank leihen, nehmen Sie einen Kredit auf. Cuando pides dinero prestado al banco, pides un préstamo.

If you're borrowing money to buy a house or an apartment, there's a special word Wenn Sie sich Geld leihen, um ein Haus oder eine Wohnung zu kaufen, gibt es ein besonderes Wort

for it: mortgage.

The spelling is strange, so practice the pronunciation: mortgage.

You need to repay a loan. Sie müssen einen Kredit zurückzahlen.

Generally, you do this by making payments every month.

Some of the payment is interest: an extra percentage which you pay to the bank.

When you finish paying back a loan, you pay it off.

If you have a lot of loans, then you're in debt. Wenn Sie viele Kredite haben, dann sind Sie verschuldet.

This means you owe money.

In the dialogue, you heard the phrase he owes a lot of money.

Let's look at some more examples with this language:

It'll take us another ten years to pay off our mortgage. Es wird noch zehn Jahre dauern, bis wir unsere Hypothek abbezahlt haben. Tardaremos otros diez años en pagar la hipoteca.

The interest on our car loan is ridiculously high. Die Zinsen für unseren Autokredit sind lächerlich hoch.

I never borrow money; I don't like being in debt. Ich leihe mir nie Geld; ich mag es nicht, Schulden zu haben.

In the dialogue, we were talking about someone who had bought a lot of things on credit. In dem Dialog ging es um jemanden, der viele Dinge auf Kredit gekauft hatte.

If you buy something on credit, you take out a loan just to buy this one thing. Wenn Sie etwas auf Kredit kaufen, nehmen Sie einen Kredit auf, nur um diese eine Sache zu kaufen.

We also mentioned that he has maxed out credit cards. Wir haben auch erwähnt, dass er seine Kreditkarten ausgereizt hat. También mencionamos que tiene las tarjetas de crédito al límite.

You max out a credit card when you borrow the maximum amount you can on it. Man schöpft eine Kreditkarte aus, wenn man den maximal möglichen Betrag aufnimmt.

Finally, if you can't pay back your debts, you'll have to declare bankruptcy. Wenn Sie Ihre Schulden nicht zurückzahlen können, müssen Sie schließlich Konkurs anmelden.

Your debts are cancelled, but you also lose anything you have which is worth money. Ihre Schulden werden erlassen, aber Sie verlieren auch alles, was Sie besitzen und was Geld wert ist.

So, think about some questions: have you ever taken out a loan or bought something on credit? Denken Sie also über einige Fragen nach: Haben Sie jemals einen Kredit aufgenommen oder etwas auf Kredit gekauft?

In your country, if someone is in a lot of debt, can they declare bankruptcy? Kann in Ihrem Land jemand, der hohe Schulden hat, Konkurs anmelden?

What happens to the money they owe? Was geschieht mit dem Geld, das sie schulden?

Again, think about how you would answer these questions, and review the dialogue and the

explanations if you need to.

Ready to move on?

Let's talk about one more thing.

Can I tell you something? Darf ich Ihnen etwas sagen?

What?

I'm so excited!

I'm going to be rich! Ich werde reich sein!

Really?

How's that?

I found this article online. Ich habe diesen Artikel online gefunden.

It told me about all of these shares which are definitely going to go up very soon. Er hat mir von all diesen Aktien erzählt, die definitiv sehr bald steigen werden. Me habló de todas estas acciones que sin duda van a subir muy pronto.

I bought as many as I could. Ich habe so viele gekauft, wie ich konnte.

Now I just have to sit back and wait for the money to come rolling in. Jetzt muss ich mich nur noch zurücklehnen und darauf warten, dass das Geld reinkommt.

Are you sure about this? Sind Sie sich da sicher?

How much did you put in? Wie viel haben Sie hineingesteckt?

All the savings I had. Alle Ersparnisse, die ich hatte.

And…

Are you sure that's a good idea?

Why not?

These shares will take off, and I'll double or triple my money. Diese Aktien werden abheben, und ich werde mein Geld verdoppeln oder verdreifachen. Estas acciones despegarán y duplicaré o triplicaré mi dinero.

It's easy.

What if they go down?

You could lose everything!

It's not likely. Das ist unwahrscheinlich.

These companies are solid. Diese Unternehmen sind solide.

It's a one-way bet! Es ist eine Einwegwette!

So, which companies did you invest in? In welche Unternehmen haben Sie also investiert?

Well, one was… er… .and then… er… Nun, einer war ... äh ... und dann ... äh ...

I can't actually remember the names, but it's very exciting stuff. Ich kann mich zwar nicht mehr an die Namen erinnern, aber es sind sehr spannende Sachen.

Biotech, you know? Biotechnologie, wissen Sie?

Oh, really?

Well, good luck.

You can buy me dinner when you've made your first million. Sie können mich zum Essen einladen, wenn Sie Ihre erste Million gemacht haben.

Deal!

What can you do with your savings? Was können Sie mit Ihren Ersparnissen tun?

You can keep them in the bank in a savings account, but you won't earn much interest. Sie können sie auf der Bank auf einem Sparkonto aufbewahren, aber Sie werden nicht viel Zinsen erhalten.

Alternatively, you can invest in something, like shares, bonds, or funds.

You can say shares or stocks; both have the same meaning.

You say stock market, but in other cases, share is more common.

You can invest in or put money into something.

More informally, you can also get into something. Man kann sich auch informell in etwas hineinsteigern.

For example:

Do you think I should get into crypto? Denken Sie, ich sollte in Kryptowährungen einsteigen?

He put half of his savings into government bonds. Er legte die Hälfte seiner Ersparnisse in Staatsanleihen an.

You should only invest in shares if you know what you're buying.

When you buy an asset, like a share or a bond, its price can go up or down.

If it goes up very far or fast, you can say it takes off. Wenn es sehr weit oder schnell nach oben geht, kann man sagen, dass es abhebt.

If it goes down very fast, it crashes.

For example:

I bought Apple shares in 1989.

I knew they'd take off one day! Ich wusste, dass sie eines Tages durchstarten würden!

They lost a lot of money when the stock market crashed in 2008. Als der Aktienmarkt 2008 zusammenbrach, verloren sie viel Geld.

If you do well, you might double or triple your money. Wenn Sie gut abschneiden, können Sie Ihr Geld verdoppeln oder verdreifachen.

Triple means you increase something three times; for example, if you turn 100 dollars

into 300 dollars.

If you don't do well, you could lose everything or get wiped out. Wenn Sie nicht gut abschneiden, könnten Sie alles verlieren oder ausradiert werden. Si no lo haces bien, podrías perderlo todo o quedar arruinado.

If you get wiped out, you lose all of the money you invested.

Let's look at some example sentences: Schauen wir uns einige Beispielsätze an:

If you make 7 per cent a year, you can double your money in ten years. Wenn Sie 7 Prozent pro Jahr verdienen, können Sie Ihr Geld in zehn Jahren verdoppeln.

He put his life savings into Enron shares, then got completely wiped out. Er investierte seine gesamten Ersparnisse in Enron-Aktien und wurde dann völlig ruiniert.

If you had savings to invest, what would you invest in? Wenn Sie Ersparnisse hätten, in was würden Sie sie investieren?

Think about how you would answer.

Finally, we have one more question for you: some people say that money can't buy happiness. Zum Schluss haben wir noch eine Frage an Sie: Manche Leute sagen, dass man mit Geld kein Glück kaufen kann.

Do you agree with this idea?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Don't forget to check out our website for more great free English lessons: Oxford Online

English dot com.

Thanks for watching!

See you next time!