Money and
Expenses
Type of the
lesson: English practice
Age of students:
19-20 (2-year students)
General topic of
the unit: Money
Topic of the
class: Money care
Goals of the
class: develop listening and speaking skills, and the ability to express
personal view of the topic, discuss responsible and reasonable ways of spending
money.
Goals of the
activity: train the skills of planning own expenses, develop critical thinking
concerning the questions of incomes and expenses.
1. Pre-listening
exercise
1. What are
common monthly expenses for the students living on their own? What about living
in the family?
2. What difficulties
do students face while living on their own (concerning both earning and
spending money)?
2. Listening
exercise
Listen to the dialogue
for the first time.
During the second listening fill in the gaps in the text
below.
Text
Ron: Uh, could I borrow a few bucks until payday? I'm a
little (1)_____ for cash.
Nancy: Uh, yeah, I guess, but I'm pinching pennies myself,
and you still (2)_____ me $20 from last week. And mom and your friend Ron said
you borrowed money from them this past week. [Oh, yeah.] How ARE things going
anyway?
Ron: Well, not very well. To be honest, I'm really in the
(3)_______, and I can't seem to make ends meet these days.
Nancy: What do you mean? I thought you landed a great job
recently, so you must be loaded.
Ron: Well, I do have a job, but I've used my credit cards
to pay off a lot of things recently, but now, I can't seem to pay the money
off.
Nancy: Uh, do you have a (4)______? I mean, how do you keep
track of your income and expenses?
Ron: Well, when my money runs out, I come to you. Of
course. [Great!] No, but I guess I should have some financial plan.
Nancy: Well, let me see if I can help you. How much money
do you spend on your apartment?
Ron: Uh, I pay $890 on rent for the studio apartment
downtown . . . not including (5) ______and cable TV. But the place has an
awesome view of the city.
Nancy: Uh, $890! Why are you paying through the nose for
such a small place when you could find a cheaper one somewhere outside of the
downtown area?
Ron: Yeah, I guess.
Nancy: Okay. How much money do you spend on food a month?
Ron: Hmmm. I'm not really sure. I think I spend around
$600. [$600?!] Well, I go out to eat at least four times a week, so those
expenses add up. I just don't enjoy eating alone, and I don't have a (6)______
for cooking like you do.
Nancy: Well, I can understand that, but perhaps you ought to
buy some microwaveable meals you could prepare at home.
Ron: Well, I guess I could.
Nancy: And entertainment?
Ron: Well, I spend a few dollars here and there on
basketball and movie tickets, a concert or two, and ballroom dance lessons.
Nancy: Uh, exactly how much do you spend on all of these?
Just a "few" dollars?
Ron: Well, oh . . . about $400 or so.
Nancy: Or so? No wonder you're having money problems. You
can't just blow your money on things like that! And what about transportation?
Ron: Oh, I (7) _____to work everyday in my new sports
car, but I got a great deal, and my monthly payments are only $450. Come
outside and take a look. We can go for a spin!
Nancy: No, I've heard enough. You've got to (8)______ your
spending, or you'll end up broke. I suggest you get rid of your credit cards,
cut back on your entertainment expenses, and sell your car. Take public
transportation from now on.
Ron: Sell my car?! I can't date without a car. What am I
going to say? "Uh, could you meet me downtown at the bus stop at
7:00?" Come on!
Nancy: And you need to create a budget for yourself and
(9)________ to it, and start with paying off your bills, starting with me. You
owe me $50 dollars.
Ron: Fifty dollars! Wait, I only borrowed $20 from you
last week. How did you come up with $50?
Nancy: Financial (10) _______fees. My advice is at least worth $30!
3. Post-listening
exercise
1. What do you think about the situation
which we’ve heared in the dialogue? Who of these two people sounds more
reasonable to you?
2. Chose
one of the positions (Nancy’s or Ron’s one) and write down 5 statements of
support for them.
Home assignment:
1. Create your
own list of monthly expenses. Analyze which of them are indispensable and which
ones you can put aside.
2. Watch the
following video.
What are the main ways to save money? Put them in in
the descending order from the most effective to the less effective one.
