Tag: finance

Help for People in Debts

B1 – Intermediate

We need money for spending on various thing like house rent or a mortgage, cars, bills, travels, and a lot more. Some people owe huge amounts of money. Many of them can’t get out of the red.

Read more on how the South Korean government would try to assist those under a pile of debts.

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/1712/171202-debt.html

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “scheme” mean? ” “The scheme was a big promise of a former South Korean president.”  Use it in a sentence.
  2. What does “debt” mean? “The Korea Times newspaper said the government is, “preventing numerous working families from going bankrupt under a mountain of debt.” Use it in a sentence.
  3. What does the phrase “write off” mean here, “South Korea is going to write off the debts of as many as 1.6 million people.” Make your own sentence using this phrase.

Discussion Questions:

1. What are your thoughts on what the South Korean government is doing?
2. What do you think of how people are spending money in your country?
3. What is your government doing to help people with a lot of debts?
4. What comes to your mind when you hear the word ‘debt’?
5. What advice can you give someone who is in debt?

Bitcoin just passed $8,000

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin provide people around the world new and innovative ways of engaging in legitimate commerce.The price of Bitcoin just passed $8,000 for the first time.

 

Click on the link to read the article and be ready to answer the questions that follow:

https://techcrunch.com/2017/11/20/bitcoin-just-passed-8000/

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is Bitcoin? What do you know about it?

2. Have you invested in Bitcoin? What are the advantages and disadvantages of Bitcoin currency?

3. Is Bitcoin the future or is just a gamble?

Sugar Baby University

B1 – Intermediate

In the US, there is a growing number of men and woman who have found alternative ways of getting through to college/university. They are turning to dating websites looking for wealthy older men (or women) who want to pay for their college fees.

Read the article below about sugar daddies paying for their sugar babies’ tuition and be ready to answer the questions that follow.

http://www.businessinsider.com/seeking-arrangement-sugar-daddies-pay-sugar-babies-college-tuition-2017-11

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are your thoughts on websites such as “seekingarrangement.com”?
  2. Do you hear this kind of arrangement being sought and made by young people in your country?
  3. Share your thoughts on this statement, “Some of [the sugar daddies] have that ‘white knight’ scenario where they really want to be helping somebody and saving them from their debt.”?
  4. In your country, how expensive is it to get through college?
  5. What are alternative ways to finish your college education if you can’t afford it?

Being Frugal vs. Being Cheap

B1 – Intermediate

Being frugal and being cheap are two very similar words. How can we tell the difference?

Being frugal is being mindful about and ingenious on how you spend your money. On the other hand, being cheap is trying to economize at yourself and/or others’ expense just so you can do some penny-pinching.

Click the link to find out the difference between being frugal and being cheap and be able to answer the questions that follow:

http://www.wisebread.com/12-ways-to-tell-the-difference-between-being-frugal-and-being-cheap

Discussion Questions:

  1. Can you manage your money until the end of each month? How do you do it?
  2. Why is it important to save money?
  3. When was the last time you spent money on something you didn’t really need? Why did you do so?
  4. What are the things you do in order to save money?
  5. Do you spend like a sailor or are you a cheapskate? How about other people in your family?

The Euro Turns 15

B1 – Intermediate

The European Union brought on a lot of changes. One of them is the change of currency. 2017 marks the 15th year for the euro currency. Was it a good idea? Will it last for many more years? Click the link below to watch the video and express your thoughts about it.

Discussion Questions:

1. What did the video say about the challenges of the euro currency?
2. What do you remember about the events in your country when your currency changed to euro?
3. Why do you think the United Kingdom decided to keep the British pound when they joined the EU?
4. What is your opinion of having one currency?

Indian Police Make Arrests

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Mumbai, India – Around 70 Indian call center representatives were arrested last week in different raids in several buildings across the city. The suspects allegedly call Americans and demand them to pay the money they owed the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and threaten to send the police to arrest them should they fail to pay up.

Listen to the audio and read the transcript to find more about this telephone scam.

http://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/india-us-scam/3548899.html

Discussion Questions:

1. How were these callers able to deceive people?
2. What are ways to identify whether this kind of phone call is a scam or not?
3. Talk about things you know about taxation in Spain.
4. What are other phone or internet scams do you know of?
5. Why is paying taxes important?

Are You a Saver or a Spender?

B2 – Upper intermediate

Are you the type of person who has a money app on his phone and keeps track of every expense? Or is it more common for you to go shopping impulsively?

Read the article below to find out what kind of person you are when it comes to money.

Are You a Saver or a Spender?

Discuss:

1. What did the article say about being a saver and being a spender?
2. After reading the article, where would you put yourself?
3. What are some of the things you mostly spend on?
4. What are some of the things that you are willing to save for? Or invest in?

Financial Lessons from Our Grandparents

B2 – Upper Intermediate

In the modern world, everything is easy-access. From buying clothes, to furniture to groceries – everything can now be bought online with your handy dandy credit cards. But did you know that when it comes to saving, the best people to ask advice from are our grandparents?

Read the article below and express your thoughts.

http://www.wisebread.com/10-financial-lessons-we-learn-from-our-grandparents

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are some financial lessons that you have learned from your parents/grandparents?
  2. How can we teach young people about financial sense?
  3. Do you prefer paying with cash or credit card? Explain your choice.
  4. What do you think are the advantages of paying cash?
  5. Are you good at saving money? Why or why not?
  6. What are the things that you plan on spending in the future?

Money Makes You a Bad Person

B1 – Intermediate

Is money really the root of all evil? Read the article to find out what professor Paul Piff says about being wealthy and being poor.

Read the article below about what money does to people and be ready to answer the questions that follow.

http://breakingnewsenglish.com/1503/150320-wealth.html

Discussion Questions:

1. Explain what Professor Piff said about wealthy and poor people.
2. Do you agree with the study of Professor Piff?
3. What things will change for you if you become wealthy?

The Nightmare Retirement Scenario

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Have you ever thought of your retirement? We all age and would need to leave our jobs to enjoy our savings and life after years of work, but have we really given it a thought?

Let’s check a scenario and possible ways on how we can keep our retirement on track.

http://money.cnn.com/2015/06/17/retirement/retirement-run-out-of-money/index.html?iid=TL_Popular

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is the age for mandatory retirement in your country? What is the advantage and disadvantage of retiring at this age?
  2. Where and how would you like to spend your retirement years? Why?
  3. How are you preparing for your retirement years?
  4. What are the three (3) things you would like to accomplish/have before and after you retire?