ESL Podcast 563 – Reducing Household Expenses

Roland: If we want to save enough money to buy a house, we need to get serious about our finances and do some financial planning. I think the first step is to create a household budget.

Ginger¹: Okay by me. You know that I’m all about the bottom line.

Roland: Yeah, right. I think we have a pretty good idea of our spending patterns, so it shouldn’t be too hard to come up with a budget that we can both live with.

Ginger: Right.

Roland: Okay, one thing we need to keep in mind is that we tend to underestimate our monthly expenses. If you look at our discretionary spending on this spreadsheet I created, you’ll be surprised at how much money we spend on nonessentials.

Ginger: Okay, I can cut back on nonessentials.

Roland: You can?

Ginger: Sure, instead of getting my nails done every week, I’ll get them done only three times a month.

Roland: Well, that’s a start…

Ginger: And instead of buying a new 60-inch TV, we can get a 52-inch one instead. That should save us a lot of money.

Roland: I think you need to do the math. If we don’t cut back much more drastically, we’ll be ready for retirement² by the time we can afford a house!


Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

1 ginger   

n.姜，精力，淡赤黄色；adj.淡赤黄色的；vt.使活泼，使有生气

参考例句：

• There is no ginger in the young man.这个年轻人没有精神。
• Ginger shall be hot in the mouth.生姜吃到嘴里总是辣的。

2 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。