The Office - Preparing a Budget (C0173)
A: Welcome Mr and Mrs Carnwell, please take a
seat.
B: Thank you.
A: SoIunderstandthatyourfamilyspendinghassky
rocketed and you want to start budgeting.
C: Yes thats correct. Frankly speaking our house-
hold income is relatively high and we have never
had any money problems, but I think this isthe
mainreasonastowhyourspendinghasgoneout
of control.
B: We have two kids and with allowances, paying
their credit cards, ours and not to mention our
mortgageandcarpayments. Withtherecenteco-
nomic downturn, my husband’s business has suf-
fered and now we need some advice as to how
we can prepare a family budget.
A: I see. Well you have come tothe right place. First
what we need to do, is determine your cash flow.
Knowing how much money is coming in will help
us allocate spending to different categories such
as mortgage, education, groceries, etc.
Visit the Online Review and Discussion (text version).c 2009 Praxis Language Ltd.
B: Yes that makes sense.
A: Secondly, I need you to bring all of your receipts
forthe last two to three months. That way, we can
determine what your average expenditures are
and see which category you are spending money
onthe most. Usually, your fixed costs are higher
and we cant do much about that, but we can usu-
allytrimyourvariablecostssuchasentertainment
or clothing.
C: Great! We will do that then! Now how about we
treat you to a nice dinner?
A: That’s another thing. If you really want to stop
spendingsomuchmoney,throwawayatleasthalf
of your credit cards! |