This episode’s vocabulary
Deposit
noun — an amount of money that you pay as the first part of the total payment for something.
Insurance
noun — an agreement in which you pay a company money and they pay your costs if you have an accident, injury, etc.
Fill out
phrasal verb — to write or type information in spaces that are provided for it.
Paperwork-intensive process
noun — a process that requires a lot of paperwork.
To recollect
verb — to remember something.
Pan out
phrasal verb — to develop in a particular way or in a successful way.
To transfer
verb — to move money from one account to another.
Be in hot water
idiom — to be in or get into a difficult situation in which you are in danger of being criticized or punished.
Finances
plural noun — the money that a person or company has.
Questions and answers
Today Rory is going to describe a situation when he paid more than expected. He's going to say what he bought, why he bought it, where he bought it. And he's going to explain why he paid more than expected. Are you ready?
I'm ready now.
Off you go.
Well, this is more of an experience than a specific item that I bought. But I remember when I paid for my first attempt at skydiving, I had to pay twice, actually. The first time was the deposit. And the second time was when I had to pay for the whole thing. Once it had been confirmed on the actual day of the event. I paid for it this way, because it's quite expensive, to be honest when you factor in paying for the staff's wages and training, the insurance and all the equipment that's involved, and everything else that goes into it. I can't imagine what else there would be, but there's probably more, I'm not an expert. Unlike the first payment, the second was made in the office, when I showed up on the day of the big event. The receptionist asked me to fill out all of these forms and hand over the ones I'd already completed before I arrive. It's a very paperwork-intensive process. And then he asked me if I wanted a cameraman. And I said yes. And then finally to pay as well. And that last one was quite a surprise because as I recollected, I had already paid for everything over the phone. But of course, that was just the deposit. And I had forgotten about the other part. Well, the main part really. So I was slightly taken aback. But then the guy explained, and I checked my banking app and sure enough, I'd only paid part of the full price. So I was able to pay and everything panned out reasonably well in that regard. I remember thinking it was good that I had transferred some money between my accounts the day before, because if I hadn't done that, then I'd have been in a bit of hot water, to be honest. I wouldn't have had enough to pay for the whole thing. So in that sense, it's quite useful, isn't it? Well, the payment went well, however. The actual skydiving part was less dramatic because it hasn't actually happened yet. I couldn't go on the day that I'd originally intended to due to bad weather, so hopefully, I'll be able to go in a few weeks without having, well, having to worry about paying for it.
And do you often pay more than expected?
No, I'm quite good with planning my finances. That's why it was such a surprise that I'd forgotten.
Thank you so much, Rory! -