📙 Part 2: Describe a time when you received money as a gift

This episode's vocabulary

Habit (noun) – something you do regularly, often without thinking. → I have a habit of checking my phone before bed.

Bank account (noun) – a record of money kept with a bank. → I transferred money to my savings account.

Teenager (noun) – a young person between 13 and 19 years old. → Teenagers often want more independence.

Stand on one’s own two feet (idiom) – to be independent, especially financially. → After graduation, she had to stand on her own two feet.

Financially speaking (phrase) – considering money and financial matters. → Financially speaking, the company is doing well.

Groceries (noun) – food and other products bought in a shop. → We spent €50 on groceries this week.

Subscription fee (noun) – a payment made regularly for a service. → Netflix charges a monthly subscription fee.

Sentiment (noun) – a feeling or thought about something. → His gift carried a kind sentiment.

Weekly shop (noun) – buying food and household goods once a week. → We do the weekly shop on Saturdays.

Spendthrift (noun) – someone who spends money carelessly. → He used to be a spendthrift, but now he saves more.

Splash out (phrasal verb) – to spend a lot of money on something. → They splashed out on a luxury holiday.

Par for the course (idiom) – something normal or expected in a situation. → Delays are par for the course when flying.

Creature of habit (idiom) – someone who always does the same things. → She always wakes up at 6 a.m. — she’s a creature of habit.

Sign (noun) – an indication that something exists or is happening. → His absence was a sign that he wasn’t well.

Independent (adjective) – not depending on others. → She became independent after moving to another city

Pocket money (noun) – small amounts of money given regularly, often to children. → Parents often give kids pocket money for chores.

Savings (noun) – money kept aside instead of being spent. → He used his savings to buy a new car.

Bonus (noun) – extra money received as a reward, usually at work. → The company gave employees a Christmas bonus.

Borrow (verb) – to take money from someone with the intention of returning it. → She had to borrow money from a friend.

Donation (noun) – money given to help a cause or charity. → They made a donation to support the hospital

Questions and Answers

Maria: You should say when it happened, who gave you money, why he or she gave you money, and explain how you used the money.

Rory: Well, even at the age of 35, this happens to me on a regular basis, actually. Every month, my dad has this habit of putting 50 pounds in my bank account, and he has been doing so ever since I was a teenager.

The last time, I suppose, would have been at the end of May this year. To tell you a bit more about who gave it to me, well, it's my dad, so obviously, I've known him my whole life. I'm not exactly sure why on earth he does it, since, like I said, I'm in my mid-thirties now and I can stand on my own two feet, financially speaking. Moreover, I don't even buy that much to begin with, aside from groceries, and pay the occasional subscription fee that's got to be paid. If I were to guess, I'd say it's probably to show that he still loves and supports me, even if it's no longer necessary, like in this physical way. And that's a nice sentiment, so I won't and don't complain about it too much.

When it comes to how I spent the last time, I honestly couldn't tell you, since it was that long ago. I think it went on the weekly shop, so there was plenty left over, because like I said, I'm a bit of a spendthrift, and don't like to splash out on huge purchases much these days. So it's not terribly exciting, unfortunately, and it never has been, at least not in the past ten years. If I hadn't been given it, well, it would have been a little bit weird, since this is something that's just sort of par for the course with my dad. As I mentioned, he's done it for years on end now. And he's a creature of habit, so it would probably have been a sign that something was off if he didn't do it, or if he hadn't done it. That's from a social point of view, of course. Financially, I wouldn't have been much worse off either, because, like I say, I'm quite independent, so it's not a big deal for me.

Discussion

Maria: Yay, thank you, Rory, for your story. Oh, how lovely. Every month, Rory's dad puts 50 pounds in his bank account. This is so cute. Wow, this is a very nice habit.

Rory: I'm not complaining. It's just a bit strange. I don't know anyone else's parents who do this for them.

Maria: Well, maybe I can do it for my mom, you know, like... Actually, I do. I give her some every month. Oh, yeah, I do that already.

Rory: That's nice. So it's working in reverse, then.

Maria: Oh, yes, dear listener, a time when you received money as a gift. You see, here Rory told us about his dad giving him money every month. It's okay. Or you can talk about your birthday or your wedding. Maybe people gave you money as a wedding gift. Or you can lie, okay? So my dad gives me money, and I've known him all my life, okay? Or like, my friend gave me money on my birthday or for my birthday.

Rory: Well, if it's on your birthday, it will be the day of your birthday. And if it's for your birthday, then that's the reason why they gave it to you.

Maria: Yeah, so usually we say, my friend gave me a sum of money for my birthday as a present, right? Don't say presented me money. No, no, no. He gave me some money for my birthday. It was a present, or it was a gift. It was my birthday gift. And we just say, my friends gave me money, or what else? Can we paraphrase money? You can say like, okay, my friends gave me $50,000, or $55, or a sum of money, an envelope with money. I can stand on my own two feet.

Rory: Financially speaking.

Maria: Financially speaking, yeah, Rory earns his own money, so he doesn't need other people's money. He has his own money. Well done, you, Rory.

Rory: Look at you. Look at me at the age of 35, having my own money…

Maria: Stand on your own two feet, or stand on your own feet, to be able to provide all the things you need for living without help from anyone else. Nice. So example, he is 20 years old, but he stands on his own feet. So he has a job, and he stands on his own two feet. And here, Rory tells us, yeah, I don't even buy much. Like I only need food, so I buy groceries, like food, and I pay subscription fees. So Rory is subscribed to different channels.

Rory: I'm not. I have an Amazon account, and that's it, basically.

Maria: So you pay for the Amazon account?

Rory: I have a subscription to my local yoga studio, although it will be paused for the time that I'm away. And I have a subscription to the climbing place that I go to with my friend. I think that's it, really.

Maria: You know, Rory, if you have some extra money, you can just donate money to me. You know, I've always wanted a Chanel bag. So it's a nice investment. You know, we can then sell this bag.

Rory: Do you know, Maria, I've always wanted to have a solid gold laptop, and I don't think I'll be getting what I want either.

Maria: Yeah, but like, why have all this money if you just don't buy stuff? Like you just earn money, and you just give money back to the universe. You know, this is how it works.

Rory: Yes, to the universe. Does it have to specifically be you in the universe?

Maria: Yeah, or other people, you know, like donating money, also is nice. To other people who need Chanel bags.

Rory: Yes, that's a very niche group of people.

Maria: Right. If you change the topic, you can say, when it comes to how I spent it the last time, because Rory gets this money every month, like 50 pounds, okay, let's check how much 50 pounds is. So let's do the research on Rory. How much money does Rory have?

Rory: Even, well, to be honest with you, I don't even know the answer to that. I would imagine that it's enough to live comfortably, which is what I'm aiming for. I don't need to be a millionaire. I just need to live reasonably comfortably.

Maria: Not much, Rory, you know, but yeah, if you get it every month, that's like, that's quite nice. So when it comes to how I spent it, I don't know; it was a long time ago, or they gave me this money a long time ago, I don't remember. And then you speculate, you think about it, or maybe I spent it on food or clothes, or maybe I spent it on travelling. I bought a new car, I don't know, or I saved it, okay, it, the money is it, I spent it, I saved it, or I wasted it on expensive restaurants, for example.

Rory: I frittered it away on a Chanel handbag.

Maria: Yeah, what, what did you do? What verb did you use?

Rory: Yeah, fritter away is just to waste.

Maria: Fritter away. Yeah. How do you spell it?

Rory: As far as I know, F-R-I-T-T-E-R. Fritter away. It means to waste something.

Maria: Fritter away is a phrasal verb. Waste money, time, or opportunity. For example, she fritters so much money away on expensive makeup. You can also say that I don't usually splash out on huge purchases, so I don't waste a lot of money on things. I don't splash out on clothes, so I don't waste money on clothes. I splash out on.

Rory: Well, splash out just means to spend a lot of money on something.

Maria: Yeah. So you can say like, oh, probably I splashed out on expensive clothes.

Rory: Maybe.

Maria: Spendthrift. Spendthrift.

Rory: If you're a spendthrift, then you just don't spend a lot of money. So we're getting all of this vocabulary for talking about not spending money.

Maria: So a spendthrift, someone who spends a lot of money in a way that wastes it. So, for example, I tend to buy a lot of expensive clothes, so I am a kind of spendthrift. But Rory, you kind of, you said that I'm a bit of a spendthrift, but you're not a spendthrift.

Rory: Isn’t a spendthrift someone who doesn't spend a lot of money? Have I made a mistake?

Maria: Yeah.

Rory: Oh, sorry.

Maria: First time in the history of the world. Band 9 error. Oh la la. Yeah, because a spendthrift is someone who spends a lot of money in a way that wastes it.

Rory: Oh, I thought it meant something else. Whoops.

Maria: So, for example, like I'm a gambler, so I enjoy gambling, so I'm a spendthrift.

Rory: Well, well spotted.

Maria: Oh la la, you see, dear listener. So here Rory should have said, I'm not a spendthrift.

Rory: Yeah, I'm not much of a spendthrift. Oh wow.

Maria: So I don't splash out. La la la, you see, dear listener. But well spotted, Maria.

Rory: Well done, me.

Maria: And now, people will be using that word correctly. So I've done my job.

Rory: My dad is a creature of habit.

Maria: So he does things regularly.

Rory: Yeah.

Maria: Or for example, my friends are creatures of habit. So they give me money for my birthday. Like every year, they do it every year. Or my parents, for example, my parents always give me money for my birthday. What helped you organise this answer?

Rory: Well, I had a dad who gives me money as a gift to begin with. But no, I talked about, I followed the script or followed the prompt here. I said when it happened in order. And then I said to tell you a bit more about who gave me the money. And when it comes to how I spent it. And then I talked about if I hadn't been given it, then what would have happened then? So just the usual template, really, using the same standard phrases we always do. Nice. Sorry again about spendthrift. Whoops.

Maria: Thank you very much for listening. And we'll get back to you in our next episode about money and cash. And more money. Bye.

Rory: Bye.

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