54: Learn English You NEED to Know: Key Phrases & Easy Listening Practice (Money)

Money makes the world go round, but how well do you understand the phrases we use to talk about it? In this lesson, we explore key English phrases about money, from saving and spending to investing and everyday idioms. Whether you're discussing finances, planning a budget, or chatting about inflation, these phrases will help you sound more natural in English.

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Here’s what we’ll cover in this lesson:

The evolution of money: Learn about barter systems, intrinsic value, fiat money, and the debt-based system.
💬 Barter systems were one of the earliest forms of trade.
💬 These metals had intrinsic value, meaning their worth came from the material itself.
💬 Fiat money has value because the government says it does.
💬 Modern money is largely created through lending, a debt-based system.

Spending money: Improve your vocabulary for talking about how you manage your finances.
💬 My friend blew all of his money on a new car. (blow money)
💬 I need to tighten up after our vacation. (tighten up)
💬 I feel like splurging on a new sound system. (splurge on something)

Saving money: Learn how to talk about saving for the future and emergencies.
💬 I'm putting money aside for a new car. (put money aside)
💬 They've built a nice nest egg over the years. (nest egg)
💬 It's always wise to save for a rainy day. (save for a rainy day)

Investing money: Understand the key terms for discussing investments.
💬 I invested in tech stocks last year. (stocks)
💬 It's important to have a balanced portfolio. (portfolio)
💬 Don't put all your eggs in one basket. (spread your investments)
💬 I'm going to play it safe and choose low-risk investments. (play it safe)
💬 I'm going to take a gamble on this investment. (take a gamble)

Debt and loans: Talk about borrowing money and managing repayments.
💬 I'm going to pay off my car loan today. (pay off)
💬 We're drowning in debt since Paul lost his job. (drowning in debt)

Inflation and rising costs: Understand the impact of inflation and how to discuss it in English.
💬 Inflation has caused prices to go up significantly this year. (inflation)
💬 The cost of living is rising in many cities. (cost of living)
💬 Gas prices are going through the roof. (prices are going through the roof)
💬 I can't afford to eat out anymore. (can't afford)

Everyday money idioms: Add some fun expressions to your conversations.
💬 Money doesn't grow on trees. (money is limited)
💬 He made a killing in real estate last year. (make a killing)
💬 Buying that car was like throwing money down the drain. (waste money)

By the end of this video, you’ll not only understand these phrases but also feel confident using them in real conversations. Don’t forget to practice creating your own sentences with these expressions and share this video with friends who want to learn too!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Money makes the world go round, But have you ever
stopped to think about how money works and why we
even use it? More importantly, can you talk about money
in English and use English phrases related to money with confidence?

(00:20):
This is one of the most practical and fascinating topics
to learn about, and today I'm going to go through
key words and phrases related to money and also give
you great listening practice so that you can learn a
little bit about the history of money in a way
to help improve your English. Money isn't just something we

(00:43):
use every day. It's a key topic in everyday English conversations,
whether you're talking about your salary, how much you earn,
discussing the economy, or simply budgeting for a trip. Knowing
how to talk about money in English is essential. Today,
I'll take you through the history of money, how it's created,

(01:05):
and the key terms and phrases you'll need for real
life conversations about spending, saving, earning, and investing. By the
end of the episode, you'll not only have a better
understanding of money, but you'll also have the confidence to
use phrases about naturally in conversations. So get yourself a
drink or relax wherever you are or continue working out

(01:29):
in the gym. And let's get started. My name is
Jack from to Fluency. This is the Affluency Podcast. And
whether you're watching on YouTube or listening on Spotify or
Apple Podcasts, I'm so glad you're here. Section one is
all about the evolution of money. So we're going to
give a brief history of this and then talk about

(01:50):
some of the key phrases that you can use, and
then also some speaking and listening practice. Now, before money
existed like we know it today, people traded goods and
services directly, and this was called a barter system. A
barter system. Now you can barter with somebody in order

(02:11):
to exchange goods or services. For example, you can imagine
in England a thousand years ago, someone might trade some
wheat for a goat. So they say, I have this wheat,
can I exchange it for your goat? But bartering had
its problems because what if the person with the goat

(02:36):
didn't want wheat, They didn't need this wheat. That is
where money came in, and the first forms of money
were coins made out of precious metals for example gold
and silver. Now Here is a key phrase these metals
had intrinsic value. Intrinsic value, meaning their worth came from

(03:00):
the material itself, the gold and silver. After that came
paper money, which was easier to carry but relied on trust.
The value was backed by governments or banks. To be
backed by something means that the paper money could be
exchange for the gold amounts that it says on that paper.

(03:23):
So even though people had paper money, they still could
exchange this for gold. But now paper money is backed
by governments or banks, and today everything is more or
less digital, and we also have digital currencies like bitcoin.
So some key phrases here if you want to talk

(03:44):
about this are barter systems were one of the earliest
forms of trade. Barter systems were one of the earliest
forms of trade. Paper money replace coins, paper money replace coins,
and cryptocurrencies are a new form of digital money. Next,
we're going to talk about the dollar versus gold, how

(04:05):
many works, and how it is created, and then we're
going to have some very specific English phrases related to money.
So next dollar versus gold. Like we mentioned before, for
thousands of years, gold was considered the ultimate store of value,
and this is because it had intrinsic value. It's durable,

(04:28):
which means it's tough, limited in supply which means there's
only so much of it, And very importantly, it is
universally recognized. So people all around the world considered gold
to be important. But most modern currencies like the dollar,

(04:50):
the pound, and the euro aren't backed by gold anymore. Instead,
they are called fiat money fiat. So think of the
dollar today as vat money. And what's interesting is fiat
money has value because the government says it does and

(05:10):
people trust it. So think about the US dollar. It's
just a piece of paper or a number on a screen.
It's simply a number on a screen, but we trust
it because we know we can use it to buy things,
we can exchange it for goods and services. So when

(05:32):
you talk about money in English, you might hear people
debating or arguing talking about whether vat money is reliable
or if we should return to a gold standard where
the money is backed by gold. So understanding these terms
will help you joining these conversations. Next, we're gonna briefly

(05:54):
talk about how money works and how it is created.
So modern money isn't just printed, which means it's not
just created. In today's system, we have a debt based system,
a debt based system, and debt is spelt debt, but

(06:15):
we just say debt debt and debt is something that
is owed to somebody else. So the system, the monetary
system today is all about debt. And in fact, modern
money is largely created through lending. Now, I'm sure in
English classes in the past you've learned the difference between

(06:38):
lend and borrow. So to lend someone something means that
you give them something, but you expect it back, and
it can be used with money. So banks can lend money.
You can even use the term loan, which means that
they are giving money to somebody and they want it back. However,

(06:58):
what's interesting, and not a lot of people know this,
is that when somebody takes out a loan at the bank,
the bank doesn't give that person existing money. Instead, it
creates new money by entering the loan amount into your account,
and this is called debt based money debt based money. Now,

(07:22):
this system relies on trust. It relies on trust, a
great verb to rely on something. So you promise or
the person promises to pay back the loan, and that
promise gives the money value and most of the money
in circulation, Most of the money in the world today

(07:44):
is created this way, not as physical cash, but as
numbers in bank accounts. A couple of key rates here
are central banks controlled the money supply by setting policies.
Now that's quite a complex sentence, probably for a lot
of people listening to this. If it's easy for you,

(08:04):
that's great, But it's central banks control the money supply,
how much money is in the economy by setting policies.
And interest rates determine the cost of borrowing money. So
if interest rates are low, the percentage of money you
have to pay back on your loan. If these interest

(08:26):
rates are low, then more people want to borrow more money.
But if the interest rates are high, then fewer people
want to borrow money. So that's an overview of the
evolution of money dollar versus gold, and how money works
and how it is created. Let's now talk about spending

(08:46):
money and talk about some common expressions you can use
in English when you're going to spend your money. The
first one is this blow money, and this means to
spend money carelessly. It means you don't have a budget,
you don't think about, oh, should I spend this or
should I not spend this? Instead, you blow your money,

(09:09):
which means you spend it all carelessly. For example, my
friend blew all of his money on a new car.
I could say my friend spent all of his money
on a new car, but by using the word below,
it means it wasn't a good decision. He blew all
his money on a new car. Now, I'll leave all

(09:30):
the phrases that we talk about today in the description below.
The next one is tighten up. Tighten up. This means
to reduce your spending. So you can imagine that you
went on a great vacation, you spent a lot of money,
You come back and you say, I need to tighten

(09:51):
up after our vacation. I need to tighten up after
our vacation. The next one is to splurge on something.
To splurge on something, and this means to spend extravagantly,
to spend a lot of money and to enjoy that process.

(10:11):
And it usually means you're going to spend more money
than you should or more money than you have to.
For example, I feel like splurging on a new sound system,
so I know I shouldn't spend too much money on it,
but I just feel like splurging. I feel like spending

(10:32):
a lot of money, going extravagant and buying an expensive
sound system. Now, in real life, when you're going to
talk about spending money, you can think about your spending
habits and create sentences to describe them. So are you
somebody who blows money on things you don't need? Or
do you try to tighten up after a trip? And

(10:54):
what was the last thing you splurged on? So practice
creating these phrases and said instances yourself. Use episode fifty
three to help you practice that, while leave a link
in the description where I talk about how to use
AI to create new sentences that are personal to you.
Now we've talked about spending money, let's now talk about

(11:18):
saving money. And saving money is another important part of
having these financial conversations in English so you can sound
more natural. So I have three phrases for you. The
first one is to put money aside. To put money aside,
and this means to save for a specific purpose. For example,

(11:39):
I'm putting money aside for a new car. I am
putting money aside for a new car. The next one
is nest egg nest egg, nest and then egg, and
this refers to money saved for the future, especially for

(12:00):
when you're older, for when you want to retire. For example,
you might say about your friends, they've built a nice
nest egg over the years. They've built a nice nest
egg over the years. And then this is one you
might have heard before. To save for a rainy day.

(12:20):
To save for a rainy day, and this means to
save for emergencies. It's an idiom because we're not actually
saving money for when it rains, but it means to
save for emergencies. For example, it's always wise to save
for a rainy day. It's always wise to save for

(12:41):
a rainy day. Now, are you somebody who likes to
save money for the future, and are you putting aside
money for anything in particular right now? These are the
type of things you can think about when you're talking
in English about money. Now, the next one is quite
similar to save, but it's different, and you understand why

(13:03):
in a second. It is investing. Okay, so we can
talk about some investing money phrases. And investing is all
about putting your money to work to earn more money.
So you invest in a stock or you invest in
real estate or bonds in the hope that it will

(13:27):
grow in value over time. Because when you save money
in the bank account a lot of the time in
your regular bank account, you don't get interested. If you
have a savings account, you get interested. But to buy
things like stocks or cryptocurrencies or real estate, this is

(13:47):
called investing. So there are some key terms here. Stocks stocks.
These are the shares of ownership in a company. For example,
I invested in tech stocks last year. I invested in
tech stocks last year. And the next one is portfolio. Portfolio.

(14:08):
This is a collection of investments. For example, you might
hear people say it's important to have a balanced portfolio.
It's important to have a balanced portfolio where it has
different stocks, different cryptocurrencies, for example, and it's balanced. Now,
some everyday phrases about investing our don't put all your

(14:31):
eggs in one basket. Don't put all your eggs in
one basket. Now, you might hear this in terms of
everything in everyday life. It's quite common in everyday English,
and it means that don't put all of your money
into one stock, because if you do that and that
stock fails, you have lost all your money. So what

(14:52):
it's saying here is to spread your investments to reduce risk.
That's what that phrase means. You might hear somebody say
I'm going to play it safe. I'm going to play
it safe, which means you're going to choose low risk investments.
And the opposite of that is to take a gamble.
I'm going to take a gamble invest in something risky,

(15:16):
which means it could fail or it could give you
high returns. It's going to be a good investment if
it works out, but a terrible investment if it doesn't. Now,
when we're talking about investing, we can use some conditionals here.
For example, if I had more money, I would invest
it in real estate. If I had more money, I

(15:37):
would invest it in real estate, or if I had
more money, I would buy more bitcoin. Now I've got
three more topics to talk about. The last one is
everyday money idioms and expressions. But first we're going to
talk about debt and loans. So I'll talk about this
a little bit more quickly. As we talked about debt before.

(15:57):
Now we mentioned interest rate before, which is really important,
and this is the cost of borrowing money, usually a percentage,
but one specific term that's important to know is a mortgage.
And listen to the spelling of this mort gage more gauge,

(16:18):
but we say mortgage moregage, mortgage. And this is a
loan specific to buying property. For example, most people have
to take out a mortgage in order to buy a house.
Now here are three everyday phrases about debt. The first
one is to pay off, So to pay off a

(16:42):
loan means to completely repay that loan. So, for example,
people might pay off their credit card debt, which means
they pay off all the debt for the credit card.
And maybe things are working well for you when you
say I'm going to pay off my car loan today,
I'm going to pay off my carn loan. Another one

(17:04):
is to be drowning in debt. Drowning in debt, and
you probably know that this is a negative term, and
it means to be overwhelmed by debt, to have so
much debt that you feel overwhelmed. For example, we're drowning
in debt since Paul lost his job. We're drowning in

(17:24):
debt since Paul lost his job. Now, the next area
is a hot topic in many different countries, and it's
this talking about inflation and rising costs. Talking about inflation
and rising costs. Now, inflation is simply the rise in

(17:45):
prices over time, which means that the value of money decreases.
And it's important because it affects everyone. It changes how
much you pay for groceries, rent, and even big purchase
is like cars and homes, and it's been a big
topic in the news recently, so it's important to understand this.

(18:06):
So here are some key terms and phrases. Firstly, inflation,
So again, this is the increase in prices over time.
For example, you might hear someone say inflation has caused
prices to go up significantly this year. The next one
is cost of living, the cost of living, and this
is the amount of money needed to sustain a standard

(18:30):
of living. For example, the cost of living is rising
in many cities at the moment, or it's important to
think about the cost of living if you're going to
move to a new city or country. Now this is
more of an everyday phrase, more conversational. Someone might say
prices are going through the roof. Prices are going through

(18:52):
the roof, which means that prices are rising quickly. An
example might be gas prices are going through the roof.
And another one you might hear people say is I
can't afford to eat out anymore. I can't afford to
eat out anymore. And this is because the prices in
restaurants have increased so much that that person doesn't have

(19:15):
enough money or they don't have enough in their budget
to eat at restaurants. So to eat out means to
eat at restaurants. You're almost there. Let's continue with the
last one, and this is everyday money idioms and expressions.
And these are fun ones too. So English has so
many ideams about money. These are some of the best ones. Now.

(19:35):
The first one is something you might hear a parent
say to their child, and it's this money doesn't grow
on trees. Money doesn't grow on trees. It means that
money is limited. The amount of money that that parent
has is limited, so they need to spend it wisely.
The next one is to make a killing, make a killing,

(19:57):
and this means to earn a lot of money. For example,
he made a killing in real estate last year. He
made a killing in real estate last year, or he
made a killing in the stock market recently. He made
a killing in the stock market recently. Did you notice
the intonation and stress with that one. The next one,

(20:19):
which I really like, is to throw money down the drain.
To throw money down the drain, this means to waste money.
For example, buying that car was like throwing money down
the drain. Buying that car was like throwing money down
the drain. So we've covered quite a lot in this
episode and hopefully you have found it useful. What I

(20:42):
highly recommend you do now is go to the description
and read the sentences, the phrases and the idioms that
we have talked about in this lesson. That way, you'll
be able to practice these phrases and then create sentences
either by yourself or with using AI or with a
teacher that are very specific to you in this area.

(21:06):
That's going to help you use the correct type of
English and make it specific to you. Then continue listening
with me on this podcast. I have many different episodes here,
so listen to some old ones, to some newer ones,
whichever ones that you think are going to help you.
If you're watching on YouTube, there are hundreds of videos here,

(21:26):
so again just go through the channel and take more
English lessons with me. And then one last thing, if
you found this useful, then share this video or episode
with a friend, send it via WhatsApp and tell them
to check it out. Thanks again for being here, and
I'll speak to you scene bye for now.