L10U3-2-Talking-about-the-cost-of-living

1 Grammar Frequency

dialogue

SIMON:hey.

JAKE:HEY.

SIMON:what are you doing?

JAKE:I'm working out a monthly budget.I wanna start saving money.

SIMON:How's it going？

JAKE:Badly.No,very badly.The basic problem is that my expenses are too high,and my income is too low.

SIMON:Yep.I've been there before.Let's have a look.

SIMON:So,you're paying half of our rent.That's 700 dollars a month.What are you other big expenses?

JAKE:Well,my salary has increased,so my taxes have gone up dramatically.

SIMON:Uh-uhh.

JAKE:And the school deducts 200 dollars a month for my retirement plan.

SIMON:Yeah.That hurts,but...

JAKE:I know.it's going to be great when I'm old.

SIMON:But the cost of living's continually going up.A night out,just a movie and dinner,is now like,60 bucks!

SIMON:And there are utilities,and the price of gasoline is rapidlly increasing...

JAKE:I pay 300 dollars a month for my car.

JAKE:If I gonna put any money in the bank,I'm gonna have to sell it.It's the only way I can significantly reduce my expenses.

JAKE:Automobile insurance is killing me.

JAKE:It's 200 dollars,twice a year,and gradually going up.And I pay 50 dollars a month for parking in our garage.

SIMON:You know,you don't even drive your car that much.

JAKE:Yeah,It's just not worth it.

SIMON:Hey,I'm thinking of going to see a movie tonight.You wanna come?

JAKE:No,Think I'll have a quite night in.

Expressing frequency

Here are some different ways to talk about monthly and yearly expenses.

My groceries(杂货) cost about $400 each month.
My groceries cost about $400 each month.

My train pass is $50 a month.
My train pass is $50 a month.

My utility bill is usually around 200 per month.
My utility bill is usually around 200 per month.

My monthly mortgage payment is $2,500.
My monthly mortgage payment is $2,500.

I pay about 7,000 in property tax every year.
I pay about 7,000 in property tax every year.

For some expenses that happen more than once in a period of time, you can use words like twice or three times.

I pay my car insurance twice a year.
I pay my car insurance twice a year.

I buy a subway ticket three times a week.
I buy a subway ticket three times a week.

Put the text in the correct order.

I pay my car insurance twice a year.

I pay for parking three times a week.

My groceries cost about 400 each month.

My mortgage payment is 2500 per month.

My utility bill is 200 per month.

Every year I pay about 7000 in property tax.

Listen and record what you hear.

I buy a weekly bus pass.
His monthly bill is about 400.
I pay my property taxes two times a year.

Utilities cost me around 300 a month.

She pays twice a year for car insurance.

My mortgage payment is 1,000 each month.

2 Expressions Cost of living

My salary has increased.

My taxes have gone up dramatically.

continually going up

rapidly increasing

I can significantly reduce my expenses.

gradually going up

Talking about the cost of living

Here are some way to ask and answer questions about the cost of living.

A: What specifically do you want to know?
What specifically do you want to know?
B: Well, how expensive is housing?
Well, how expensive is housing?

A: What's the cost of living like there?
What's the cost of living like there?
B: Overall, it's a bit above the national average, but prices are stable. Overall, it's a bit above the national average, but prices are stable.

A: What's your usual monthly bill for groceries?
What's your usual monthly bill for groceries?
B: They run about $300 a month.
They run about $300 a month.

A: How much do people generally pay for housing?
How much do people generally pay for housing?
B: Well, houses are reasonably priced.
You can get a two-bedroom house for around $100,000.
Well, houses are reasonably priced.
You can get a two-bedroom house for around $100,000.

Increases and decreases

When you're explaining increases or decreases, it helps to add an adverb to specify the rate of change.

Housing prices have been dropping dramatically. Housing prices have been dropping dramatically.

The city's population has decreased rapidly. The city's population has decreased rapidly.

Property taxes are rising steadily. Property taxes are rising steadily.

Utility costs increase significantly in the winter. Utility costs increase significantly in the winter.

Transportation costs were stable, but now they're falling gradually. Transportation costs were stable, but now they're falling gradually.

Listen and record what you hear.

What about transportation?
How much are utilities, generally?
What about other expenses?

That'll be a big increase in my monthly budget.
So the cost of living is below average?

How much do you pay for food each month?

How much is rent for an apartment?
How much is rent for an apartment?

3 Reading Financial management tips

Predicting content in a text

When you know the topic of the text you are about to read, you can predict some of the content. For example, you are about to read an article that gives tips for improving personal finances. Think of some of the vocabulary you might find in this text.

Terms to describe personal finance:
savings savings
debt debt
income income
deduction deduction

Terms to describe expenses:

housing housing
bills bills
transportation transportation

Before reading the text in the next activity, try to think of some more words you might see.

My recipe for financial success

扣除额 deductions

Different financial experts will offer different solutions for successfully managing your finances. My recommendations are not for everyone, but they have worked well for me over the years. Every month you have a net income – that is, your income after taxes and other deductions. I am going to offer you two situations, one that includes debt and one that does not.

If you currently have debt, this is how I recommend you spend your net income each month:

approximately 35% on housing, including utility bills for electricity, water, etc.
approximately 15% on transportation, whether you have a car or not
approximately 25% on life, including your cell phone, groceries, clothing, going out, etc.
approximately 15% on paying off your debt
approximately 10% on savings
If you are spending more in any of these areas, it suggests you need to cut your expenses – for example, by moving to cheaper housing. If you don't have any debt, however, change that savings percentage to 25 percent, and your money will increase before you know it.

4 Final Task The cost of living

You and a friend are talking about finances. Your friend is giving you advice. Listen, then record the correct reply.

Yeah, my company's moving there. So, what's it like?

Well, the cost of living - how much is rent for an apartment?
I'd love to own a house. So, how much are utilities usually?

OK. What about other expenses? How much is food each month?
How about prices for food, like meat and vegetables? Are they expensive?
What about transportation? Can I buy a cheap train pass every month?
That will be a major increase in my monthly budget.
So, overall, the cost of living is below the national average?
Good news! Thanks for giving all of this information.