节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-12-14
难易度:High
关键字:couple, utility, shortage, retail, wish list, digital analytics
Greetings, everybody.
Welcome to Studio Classroom Worldwide.
My name is Steve.
Thanks for joining us today.
Well, the holiday season is coming up.
And that means many of you parents are thinking about gifts to get your kids.
Maybe it'll be a new smartphone, an electronic tablet, clothes or cold hard
cash.
Now there's certainly nothing wrong with any of those things,
but the author of this month's FINANCE feature suggests you consider another
gift for your kids, that is, if you haven't given it already:
It's a little lesson in finances.
Now let's open our magazines to page 29 and learn more about teaching children
to spend money wisely.
(Music).
A Lesson in Finance is a Great Gift for Kids.
It may not look as good under the tree, but Mellan and Beacham say cash is a
great gift.
Coupled with that allowance money, your kids could get the gifts of their dreams
- or might reconsider.
Children need to recognize the costs associated with phones, for example.
The cost of a smartphone averages $50 to $300 with carrier contacts, says Bob
Harris, CEO of utility comparison website WhiteFence.
That doesn't include monthly bills, replacement costs or insurance.
There is no shortage of options if you're faced with a budget-busting wish list
from one or more children.
Hi, friends.
Thank you for joining us.
My name is Ryan.
And my name is Kaylah.
Now we're talking about helping your children be financially smart, and using
the holidays as a time to teach them how to spend money wisely.
Now yesterday we started looking at a few tips.
We said, first of all, lead by example.
Have your budget set and don't overspend.
That's right.
This is a good idea to show your kids how they should spend their money when
they get older.
Now you should also be giving them an allowance.
Of course, that means you're giving them money every so often.
But the reason you're doing this is so that they can use that money and learn
how to spend it when they get it.
That's right.
Now we're going to look at some more tips.
Our next one is... it starts with: It may not look as good under the tree, but
Mellan and Beacham both say that cash is a great gift.
We're talking about giving good advice, good financial advice as a gift.
Well, why not try giving money?
Ryan, would you like that?
As... as a child, would you like to get money?
Actually, I don't know.
Well, I mean, the beauty of Christmas is you wake up and you see all those big
presents under the tree, and you get all excited.
But what if you just saw a tiny little envelope, and it just has cash in it?
Maybe I might not be as excited.
Well, this is actually something my parents did.
Half of the money that they had for us were gifts, so there were some gifts
under the tree.
And then the other half, they would put in an envelope and stick it inside the
tree.
We had to hunt to find our money envelope.
Now the reason this is such a good idea is because coupled with allowance money,
your kids could get the gifts of their dreams - or maybe they will reconsider.
OK. Let's look at that word "coupled" with something.
Now "coupled" means together or to be combined, just like you see a couple, a
couple of people meaning two people.
So "coupled" here as a verb means it's put together in a set.
Exactly, so.
We're combining here the allowance money with the money that you give your kids
for Christmas,
and then they are able to then use that money and learn how to spend it on the
gifts that they want for Christmas.
That's right.
They might rush out and get so excited they'll buy their favorite, most
expensive gift.
Well, they'll get there and see how much it costs and reconsider.
To reconsider means they'll think about it again and maybe do something
different.
Yeah, maybe change their mind.
Children, you need to recognize the costs associated with smartphones, for
example.
That's right.
Phones are not a one-time cost.
It's not you buy the phone, and that's the end.
You have to pay every month.
So it's important that kids learn that.
Exactly. You need to recognize those costs.
That means you are actually able to see what they are and understand it.
The cost of a smartphone averages between just $50 to $300, and that's with
carrier contracts.
That's right.
It's... it's expensive, Ryan.
I don't have a smartphone because of this reason.
Yeah. Actually, the word "average" means it can be anywhere between usually $50
to $300.
But Kaylah, did you know a brand new iPhone, without a carrier contract, could
be up to US$600 or $700.
That's ridiculous.
It's expensive.
That is crazy how expensive this can be.
So it's important that you help children understand that just asking for a
smartphone doesn't mean they can get one.
Now this advice comes from Bob Harris, and he is the... CEO of a utility
comparison website called WhiteFence.
Now friends, a "utility" is a service that is often used such as water or gas or
electricity.
Those are things that are provided for you constantly, and you pay every month
to use them.
OK. So now he's talking about getting the phone and the contract.
And that was between $50 and $300.
But that does not include monthly bills, replacement costs or insurance.
Those are all extra-money things.
Exactly.
When you are on a carrier contract, Kaylah, that means the carrier - it's the
company that is giving you cell phone service - is... has a contract.
That means you have maybe one year or two years that you need to pay them every
month, so.
Your monthly bills might include extra costs, right?
Oh, absolutely.
A lot of times there's hidden cost you don't know... you don't expect.
You might lose your phone or break your phone.
And so it's important that you... you help kids understand that just getting a
phone is not a cheap thing.
Right. There's monthly bills you have to pay for the service, replacement costs
if your phone is lost or damaged, and insurance.
That all costs much more than just the price of the phone in the beginning.
Now you might be thinking: Well, my child wants these things, but if I don't get
them what they want, well, what can I get them?
Well, there is no shortage of options if you're faced with a budget crisis,
if you're faced with a budget-busting wish list from one or more of your
children.
So what does it mean to have no shortage of something?
Well, first of all, the word "shortage" means there's not enough of something,
not enough for what you need.
OK. So to have no shortage means there is plenty of something.
So there are plenty of options if you're faced with a budget-busting wish list.
Now "budget-busting" is kind of a fun phrase that's made up for here.
We know our budget is how much money we can spend.
Now to "bust" something means it ruins it or destroys it.
So it would really tear up your budget and would make it hard.
Exactly, so.
If your child has a "wish list," which is a list of the things that they want
but maybe can't actually have,
if that list has things that are budget-busting, then actually you have a lot of
options.
That's right.
Maybe you have one child who has big dreams, but unfortunately, some of us have
a lot of kids.
So if you have a lot of children who want a lot of expensive things, we have
some ideas to help you out and help you look into less budget-busting ideas.
We'll look at those right after we visit the Chat Room.
(Music).
Well, I try to persuade our president to order e-readers for people to check
out, but he said no.
Why not?
Are they too expensive?
Yep.
He said those e-readers would bust our budget.
Bust your budget?
I thought that "bust" meant break.
How can you break a budget?
You're right, Ken.
"Bust" usually does mean break.
But another meaning of the verb "bust" is to cause a budget or business to
become short of money.
I see.
Well, you said avoid any budget-busting moves, I don't want the library to close
because it runs out of money.
Good point.
I guess people will have to buy their own e-readers.
Hey, speaking of bust, I've seen a TV show called MythBusters.
I guess they're called "busters" because they bust myths.
That's right.
They bust the myths, or break them up, and show they're not really true.
So are there any other uses of the verb "bust" I should know about?
Well, I guess I can tell you, Ken, that I did get busted for speeding once.
Busted for speeding?
You must have gotten a speeding ticket then.
Yep. A policeman stopped me and gave me a ticket.
I was busted, meaning that I got caught.
But police also bust criminals when they arrest them.
Hmm, getting busted doesn't sound like much fun.
I think I'll try to obey the speed limit.
That's a good idea, Ken.