
Learn English with this budgets English lesson
Date: Oct 30 2018
Grammar: Past Progressive Tense
Intro
1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.
2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.
Do you know how much money you have? Can you manage it by balancing your bank statements, or are you more carefree about your finances? If you’re lucky enough to have disposable income, you might not have to worry that much about saving it for a rainy day. You might even pay someone else to allocate what you have to where it needs to go.
Managing money is a skill. Some people have it, and some people don’t. It’s true that it can be learned later in life, but often being extra responsible about money is something that our parents teach us. The most important thing to remember is keeping enough money to cover one’s expenses. If you spend more than you have, then you’re in trouble.
Marni and Jessica are talking about money. One is extra careful about money, and the other is not. Learn more in today’s English lesson about finances.
Dialog
1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.
2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.
![]() |
![]() |
Marni: I was just balancing my checkbook. Looking at my income, and my bank statements, and everything. And, oh boy!
Jessica: That’s so stressful.
Marni: It really is! I hate having to just manage every cent, but that’s the way I am. I was taught to just take care of your money, and make sure that you have enough money to cover everything, and never carry a balance on your credit card, and…
Jessica: I understand the whole theory of saving it for a rainy day, but more recently I’ve been trying to become more carefree with my money…
Marni: Really?
Jessica: …and my spending. Yes, it’s out of character for me. I used to be like you. I used to manage every dollar.
Marni: OK.
Jessica: And, yes, I had a lot of financial security at that time. But now, I feel comfortable. I get to travel more. And I feel good spending money that I’ve worked hard to earn.
Marni: I just can’t allocate my money that way. I have specific things that I need to make sure that I have money for, and then I don’t have a lot of disposable income. So I just really need to manage my money. Hopefully some day I’ll get to be more like you.
Jessica: I’ll help you out.
Marni: Thanks.
Jessica: I’ll help you get there.
Grammar Point
Go Super to learn "Past Progressive Tense" from this lesson
Quizzes
Lesson MP3
The iTEP® test
-
Sponsored by
Discussion
Jessica and Marni have very different opinions about money and how to spend it. Marni wants to know exactly how much she has, and she knows exactly how she will use it. She takes great care to be aware of what she is earning and what she is spending.
Jessica used to be like Marni, but she’s trying to be less worried about money. She doesn’t want to use her time looking carefully at her bank statements. Jessica would rather travel and spend her money in other ways that make her happy.
Marni hopes that one day she will have similar feelings about money, but for now, she isn’t going to start behaving out of character. She’s probably going to go home and check her bank account on the computer!
Are you more careful with money like Marni, or are you more carefree with your money like Jessica?
Comments
China |
India |
Germany |
Pakistan |
Japan |
Iran, Islamic Republic Of |
Argentina |
China |
Iran, Islamic Republic Of |
Germany |
Belarus |
Afghanistan |
Afghanistan |
United States |