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Views #1308 | Intermediate (B2)

Saving for the Future

Sorie and Mark talk about how they plan to save for their retirment in the future.

Sorie: So you do have some extra money that you can put away, you would say?

Mark: I think maybe everyone has extra money because you just use less. So you just decide in advance to put a little bit aside whether it’s 5 dollars or 50.

Sorie: So, like, change your priorities and spend less money on other things and more towards your pension?

Mark: Exactly. Exactly.

Sorie: Right. So what would you cut? If you had something that you have to stop putting your money towards, what would it be?

Mark: I don’t know if there’s anything to cut because I’m not really buying much. I couldn’t cut food. That’s primary important. I don’t know. What would you cut?

Sorie: Clothing, maybe. You know, I’m a woman so I like to wear fashionable clothes so that would be one of them, and traveling. I love traveling, so maybe take one less holiday a year and put that towards my pension.

Mark: One less holiday than one.

Sorie: Yeah, that’s right.

Mark: Stop going on a holiday. How about have lots of kids? Go back to that idea.

Sorie: Yeah.

Mark: Yeah.

Sorie: Well, I actually come from a family with a lot of kids. At the moment, that's not working well for my parents because I’m not sending any money to them. But maybe in the future. So that’s the thing, you know. It works in a chain. I have to worry about my parents, so I cannot really be worrying about my own pension. So it’s like a continuous burden that you give to your children. And it never ends.

Mark: Well, yeah, we're really mixing up with other things. I don’t think we’re really getting an answer though as to what’s best.

Sorie: Well, there are other options as well, you know. You can live a simple life where you can grow food from your land and—

Mark: And then you wouldn’t need necessarily to save so much.

Sorie: Yeah, be a healthy person and you don’t have to—take really good care of your body and then you don’t have to go to a place where a nurse has to take care of you at an early age, you know.

Mark: I think that’s what I want to do. I think going for the simple life, trying to create the situation right now to enable like retirement age to spend in such a simple place where everything is taken care of itself and the excess money isn’t necessarily needed. I think that’s what we should do.

Sorie: Awesome.

Answer these questions about the interview.
Audio Lessons about Phrases and Vocabulary

put away

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Do you have some extra money that you can put away?

When you put something away, you keep it for later. Notice the following:

  1. I need to put some money away for college.
  2. My parents put some money away for me for when I graduate.

priority

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You should change your priorities and spend less money.

A priority is something you feel is important. Notice the following:

  1. This is a top priority. Please do it now.
  2. She has her priorities all wrong. She parties too much.

cut

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I couldn’t cut food.

When you cut something from your life, you do stop doing it or do it much less than before. Notice the following:

  1. I need to cut my bills in half.
  2. Could you cut the internet from your life?

 

 

chain

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It works in a chain.

A chain is a sequence of similar parts or actions. Notice the following:

  1. The Andes is a chain of mountains in South America.
  2. We have a supply chain that we need to survive.

burden

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So it’s like a continuous burden.

A burden is a responsibility that causes hardship. Notice the following:

  1. Parenthood is a small burden but a great joy.
  2. He is burdened with a huge house payment.

It never ends

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It never ends.

We use the phrase - it never ends - to express that something never stops eventhough we want it to. Notice the following:

  1. I thought the movie would never end.
  2. My brother is always asking me for money. It never ends.

Vocabulary Quiz

put away • priority • cut
chain • burden • it never ends
  1. His debt is a in his life.
  2. His children are his top .
  3. I need to my spending.
  4. I should more savings.
  5. Bills! .
  6. He has had a of good luck.

Related Lessons

1307 Retirement
#1307 Retirement
Options for retirement.
Speakers
Video 1308
Do you worry about money?
Speakers
Video 1307
Do you want a big or small family?

Other Lessons

1310 Homegrown Foreigner
#1310 Homegrown Foreigner
Feeling strange at home.
1309 Going Home
#1309 Going Home
Having two home countries.
1308 Money Worries
#1308 Money Worries
Saving for the future.
1306 Surviving the Wild
#1306 Surviving the Wild
Going into the wilderness.

 

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Hello, and welcome to elllo. My name is Todd Beuckens. I've been an ESL teacher for 25 years. I created elllo to provide teachers and students free audio lessons and learning materials not usually found in commercial textbooks.
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