Language Practice

Intermediate

Vocabulary    Intermediate 02 Spending power

Money
Making money
When we work, we earn or make money.
I earn £18,000 a year.
I made over $3,000 last month.
The money we earn for working is called a wage or a salary. A wage is money we earn for a day or a week, or for
doing a temporary job. A salary is money we earn for a month or a year.
My weekly wage is less than £300.
The average salary in my country is £26,000 a year.
Our employer pays us at the end of each day, each week or each month. We get paid.
I’m sorry, but I can’t pay you this week.
I usually get paid at the end of the month.
Some people earn a lot of money. They are rich or wealthy.
My sister has a good job in the city. She’s really wealthy.
Other people earn very little money. They are poor.
I’m so poor that sometimes I have to go without food.

Spending money
When we earn money, we usually spend some or most of it.
I spend most of my money on things like rent, bills and food.
We can pay money for something or we can spend money
on something.
I paid £30 for a new shirt, and I spent £150 on a new camera.
If we have enough money for something, we say that we can afford it.
Can you afford a new computer at the moment?
Something that people can afford is affordable.
The restaurant does great food at affordable prices.

Shopping
When we buy food and other things for the house, we do the shopping. When we spend money on other things like
clothes, we go shopping.
I went into town, did the shopping, then went for a coffee.
I’ve just been paid. Let’s go shopping!
These days, many people shop on-line using a computer.
I prefer to shop on-line because prices are usually cheaper.
When we pay for something in a shop, we can use cash (notes and coins) or a card. Some shops accept cheques.
I always try to pay with cash when I go shopping.
I can’t find my card anywhere.
I’m sorry, but we can’t accept cheques.

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 Language Practice
Intermediate

Vocabulary    Intermediate 02 Spending power (continued)

The best time to go shopping is during the sales, when a lot of prices are reduced.
I got this £300 camera for £100 in the sales.
Sometimes, when you go shopping, you can ask for a discount (if, for example, the thing you are buying is slightly
damaged). The shop might reduce the price for you.
Can I get a discount if I pay with cash?
When a shop or a service provider like a gas company tells us that they want money from us, they give or send us a
bill. When we want a note from a shop or company to say we have paid them, we ask for a receipt.
Have you seen this gas bill we’ve just received?!
Don’t forget to ask for a receipt when you pay for the petrol.

Banking
If we don’t spend money, we save it. The best place to save money is in a savings account at a bank. The best place to
keep money that you need to spend is in a current account.
My salary usually goes directly into a current account at the bank. If I have any money left at the end of the month, I
save it. I have a savings account for this.
Bank can be a verb or a noun.
Who do you bank with?
I’m going to bank the money you gave me.
These days, on-line or Internet banking is very popular. People can use their computers at home to manage their bank
accounts.
The advantage of on-line banking is that you don’t need to go to the bank.
When we don’t have enough money for something, we borrow it from the bank. Then bank lends the money to us.
When we return the money, we pay it back.
I told the bank I needed to borrow €5,000 from them for a new car.
The bank refused to lend me the money.
I promised to pay it back by the end of the year.
The bank refused to borrow me £50 until the weekend.