6 Money

A Personal finance

Sometimes in a shop they ask you: 'How do you want to pay?'

You can answer: 'Cash / By cheque / By credit card.'

In a bank you usually have a current account, which is one where you pay in your salary and then withdraw money to pay your everyday bills. The bank sends you a regular bank statement telling you how much money is in your account. You may also have a savings account where you deposit any extra money that you have and only take money out when you want to spend it on something special. You usually try to avoid having an overdraft or you end up paying a lot of interest. If your account is overdrawn, you can be said to be in the red (as opposed to be in the black or in credit).

Sometimes the bank may lend you money – this is called a bank loan. If the bank (or building society) lends you money to buy a house, that money is called a mortgage. When you buy (or, more formally, purchase) something in a shop, you usually pay for it outright but sometimes you buy on credit. Sometimes you may be offered a discount or a reduction on something you buy at a shop. This means that you get, say, £10 off perhaps because you are a student. You are often offered a discount if you buy in bulk. It is not usual to haggle about prices in a British shop, as it is in, say, a Turkish market. If you want to return something which you have bought to a shop, you may be given a refund, i.e. your money will be returned, provided you have a receipt.

The money that you pay for services, e.g. to a school or a lawyer, is usually called a fee or fees; the money paid for a journey is a fare.

If you buy something that you feel was very good value, it's a bargain. If you feel that it is definitely not worth what you paid for it, then you can call it a rip-off (very colloquial).

Ex.1.

Opening an account

Put each word or phrase in the group below in its correct place in the following passages.

formalities open account bank charges

overdraft branch fill in

It's very simple to (a) ____ a bank (b) ____ in Britain. There are very few (c) ____. Just go to your local (d) ____, (e) _____ a few forms, and that's it. You will probably only have to pay (f) ____ if there is no money in your account or if you borrow money from the bank, in other words if you have an (g) ______.

Current and deposit accounts

notice current cheque withdraw deposit interest

For regular everyday use most people prefer a (a) ____ account. This normally earns no (b) ____ but you are given a (c) ____ book, which makes shopping and paying bills very easy. A (d) ____ account earns interest but it's not so easy to (e) ____ your money. You sometimes have to give a week's (f) ____.

Using your account

balance deposit withdrawal standing order statement

At regular intervals, perhaps monthly, you will receive a (a) ____ from the bank, giving details of each (b) ____ (money you put in) and (c) ____ (money you take out). If you're not sure how much money you have in your account, you can just go to your bank and ask what your (d) ____ is. If you have to make a regular payment, like rent, you can ask the bank to pay this amount for you automatically. This arrangement is called a (e) ______.

Ex.2. Translate into English.

1. Если вы обнаружите брак в товаре и захотите его вернуть в магазин, не забудьте принести квитанцию о покупке, без которой вам не вернут деньги.

2. На что ты потратишь свою премию?

3. Она вчера сняла все деньги с депозитного счета и закрыла его.

4. Я не люблю кредитные карточки и чековые книжки, а предпочитаю платить наличными.

5. Она работает в местном филиале банка кассиром.

6. Я никогда ничего не покупаю в магазинах по полной цене, а жду скидок на то, что мне нужно.

7. Во многих восточных странах принято торговаться не только на базарах, но и в магазинах, и, если вы этого не сделаете, продавцы будут очень разочарованы.

8. В наше время банки часто отказывают людям в кредитах.

9. Внештатные переводчики не имеют стабильного заработка, а а получают гонорары за свою работу.

10. Я не хочу покупать это оптом, поэтому хотела бы узнать розничную цену на данный товар.

B Public finance

The government collects money from citizens through taxes. Income tax is the tax collected on wages and salaries. Inheritance tax is collected on what people inherit from others. Customs or excise duties have to be paid on goods imported from other countries. VAT or value added tax is a tax paid on most goods and services when they are bought or purchased. Companies pay corporation tax on their profits. If you pay too much tax, you should be given some money back, a tax rebate.

The government also sometimes pays out money to people in need, e.g. unemployment benefit (also known informally as the dole), disability allowances and student grants (to help pay for studying). Recipients draw a pension / unemployment benefit or are on the dole or on social security.

Every country has its own special currency. Every day the rates of exchange are published and you can discover, for example, how many dollars there are currently to the pound sterling.

A company may sell shares to members of the public who are then said to have invested in that company. They should be paid a regular dividend on their investment, depending on the profit or loss made by the company.

Ex.3. Answer the following money quiz.

1. What currencies are used in Japan, Australia, India and Russia?

2. What does the expression, 'hard currency', mean?

3. Name two credit cards which are usable world-wide.

4. Give two examples of imports that most countries impose customs duties on.

5. Give three examples of kinds of income that would be classed as unearned.

6. What is the Dow Jones index and what are its equivalents in London and Japan?

7. Give an example of something that is priceless and something that is valueless.

8. Name the coins and banknotes used in your country and one other country.

Ex.4. Match the words on the left with their definitions on the right.

1 interest 2 mortgage 3 an overdrawn account 4 savings account 5 current account 6 pension 7 disability allowance 8 child benefit 9 grant

a bank account with minus money in it money paid towards the cost of raising a family money given by the government for education, welfare, etc. an account that is used mainly for keeping money money paid to people after a certain age an account that cheques are drawn on for day-to-day use money chargeable on a loan money paid to people with a handicap a loan to purchase property

Ex.5. Complete the sentences with the correct preposition.

1. You shouldn't waste your money .......... expensive holidays.

2. Banks don't like lending money .......... small businesses.

3. You can change your euros .......... dollars at any Bureau de Change.

4. It's a good idea to invest money .......... stocks and shares.

5. Banks charge high interest rates when you borrow money .......... them.

6. Why not leave some money .......... charity in your will?

Ex.6. Write A (= have money) or B (= not have money) next to each these expressions.

1. I'm a bit short of cash today.

2. The Jacksons live from hand to mouth. They simply can't make ends meet.

3. Luanda's very well off.

4. Peter can't afford to pay the rent this month. He's very hard up.

5. We're quite comfortable.

6. Are you in debt?

7. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are very wealthy.

8. He's a multi-millionaire.

9. She inherited millions (an oil-heiress).

10. They won a fortune.

11. She's got more money that sense.

12. They’re made of money.

13. You're looking very prosperous.

14. They say we're living in an affluent society.

15. He's comfortably off.

16. Money doesn't buy happiness, but it helps.

17. I'm a bit hard up at the moment, actually.

18. I'm down to my last ten p.

19. He's broke.

20. They're on the breadline.

21. I haven't got a penny to my name.

22. I'm afraid we're bankrupt, gentlemen.

23. Now I know what it's like to be poverty-stricken.

24. I'm running into debt.

25. I owe money everywhere.

26. I'm a few thousand in the red.

27. I'm up to my ears in debt.

Ex.7. Mark the correct preposition in each pair.

1. Asha borrowed a camera to / from Alex.

2. Will you lend the car to / from us for the weekend?

3. The company owes its success to / from its excellent training programme.

4. You're spending too much money to / on food.

5. Mike's wasting most of his money on / into clothes,

6. Ella paid some money on / into her bank account.

7. Carl changed his money in / into Euros.

8. We've made a lot of money from / by computer games.

9. I've got no money by / on me.

10. When Sue died, she left her money at / to her brother.

Ex.8. Paraphrase the sentences using your active vocabulary:

1. What's the value of your ring? (3 var.)

2. A friend wants to go to an expensive restaurant but you don't have enough money.

3. I would like to borrow money from you.

4. The level of money and comfort people have is high in this country.

5. I bought the CDs but I never play them. I think I used my money badly.

6. I'm not going there again – they asked me to pay £ 2 for a cup of coffee!

7. I never keep some of my money when I receive it.

8. He worked too much and got too little.

9. I’ll return the money that I borrowed from you. (2 var.)

10. They bought a new car a month ago.

11. If you invest money now, in several years you will get much more.

12. I sold my house getting much more money than I had paid on buying it.

13. We were not so successful in business. We lost money on the deal.

14. This house is mine. I have it as my property.

Ex.9. Translate into English:

налог, проценты, наличные, сдача, гонорар, плата за проезд, пенсия, плата за квартиру.

1. Он даже не пытался скопить (откладывать) деньги.

2. Люди, которые были ему должны, не смогли вернуть ему деньги.

3. Рене покупал лотерейные билеты по пять франков каждый.

4. Через два года вы получите большую прибыль и удвоите свои деньги.

5. Она очень выгодно продала свою машину.

6. Боюсь, вы не сможете оплатить этот счет.

7. Он миллионер!

8. Она унаследовала миллионы.

9. Он очень богат. (3 вар.)

10. Я весь в долгах. (3 вар.)

11. У меня нет ни копейки.

12. Он выглядит процветающим.

13. Курс валют сегодня: 1 доллар = 8 грн. 25 коп.

14. На что вы потратили все деньги?

15. В этой стране высокий жизненный уровень.