Money and lifestyle - 6 Minute English

Neil: Hello, and welcome to

6 Minute English. I'm Neil.

Rob: And I'm Rob.

Neil: In this programme we're talking

about finance and in particular

planning for our future lifestyles.

Rob: I can barely afford

my current lifestyle!

Neil: Same here, but perhaps we'll pick up

some good tips today. Before that though,

a question. Being a millionaire may be

an impossible dream for most of us,

but when was the word first used

in English? Was it:

a) 1600s, b) 1700s, or c) 1800s -

What do you think, Rob?

Rob: I'm going to guess that it's the 1600s

as there have always been

very wealthy people.

Neil: Well, I'll reveal the answer later.

Now, the BBC Money Box programme

covers all sorts of financial features.

Recently they were talking about

lifestyle financial planning,

which is planning your finances to meet

the kind of lifestyle you want to have.

Julie Lord leads a financial planning

organisation and she talked about

the process of lifestyle financial

planning. How many numbers does

she say you need to start with?

Julie Lord: Well, we would start by saying

that we need to put together

a lifetime cashflow forecast or a model.

You just need four numbers: your income,

your expenditure, assets, liabilities and

then we project forward to show you

what sort of lifestyle you will have

if you do nothing at all and if

indeed you do some of the things that -

perhaps an ISA or a Pension or any

other kind of financial product -

might help you with.

Neil: So how many numbers do you need?

Rob: She says that you start

with just four numbers.

Neil: That's right. The first of

these numbers is your income. This is

the money that you

have coming in. Your salary, for example.

Rob: Then there is the number

for your expenditure. This is the money

you have going out: for rent, food,

entertainment, transport and so on.

Neil: The next number was for assets.

This is the cash value of things that you

own. For example property, cars, jewellery

as well as savings and investments,

that kind of thing.

Rob: And finally there is liabilities.

This is the money that you owe,

for example on credit cards or loans.

Neil: So if you know these details,

she says they can come up

with a lifetime cashflow forecast,

which is a calculation of how much

money you can expect to have in the

future and if that is enough to meet

your expectations. Do you have those

details? Do you know your numbers, Rob?

Rob: I have a very detailed spreadsheet

where I do list my income and

expenditure. So I do know

from month to month how much money

I need and how much I can spend.

Neil: That sounds very organised!

What does it tell you about your future?

Rob: Well, it just reminds me of exactly

how much money I don't have.

It's quite depressing!

How about you, Neil?

Neil: Oh, I live in blissful ignorance.

I have no idea how big my debts are.

I try not to worry about it.

I kind of think I'm much too young to

worry about it now and that as

if by magic it will all work out in the end.

So it would be difficult for me to come up

those four numbers. Anyway, let's listen to

Julie Lord again describing the lifestyle

financial planning process.

Julie Lord: Well, we would start by saying

that we need to put together

a lifetime cashflow forecast or a model.

You just need four numbers: your income,

your expenditure, assets, liabilities

and then we project forward to show you

what sort of lifestyle you will have

if you do nothing at all and if

indeed you do some of the things that -

perhaps an ISA or a pension or any

other kind of financial product - might

help you with.

Neil: Is lifestyle financial planning only

for older people with a good pension? Not

according to Julie Lord.

Julie Lord: Well, it's not all about old age,

is it? I mean, there are people... we have

quite a number of younger clients

who come to us and say 'we just

want to get financially organised,

we've heard about all this stuff, these

financial products, no idea really what

they are or, more importantly, what they're

going to do for us, so can you give us

a hand to help us look forward to see

what will happen'.

Neil: So she also has younger clients

who ask for her company's help.

Rob: Yes, she uses the phrase, give us

a hand, which means to help someone.

If you give someone

a hand, you help them.

Neil: Exactly, in the way that I give you

a hand with 6 Minute English.

Rob: Well, I think I give you a hand rather

than the other way around, Neil.

Neil: Really, well let's not fall out about

it. Let's listen to Julie Lord again.

Julie Lord: Well, it's not all about old age,

is it? I mean, there are people... we have

quite a number of younger clients

who come to us and say 'we just want

to get financially organised, we've heard

about all this stuff, these financial

products, no idea really what

they are or, more importantly,

what they're going to do for us,

so can you give us a hand to help us

look forward to see what will happen'.

Neil: It's nearly time now to review

our vocabulary, but first, let's have

the answer to our quiz question.

When was the word millionaire first

used in English? Was it:

a) 1600s, b) 1700s, or c) 1800s -

What did you think, Rob?

Rob: Well, I guessed and said

it was the 1600s.

Neil: Well, not a good guess this time, I'm

afraid. It's actually a lot later. It was

the 1800s when it was first used

in English, though had appeared

in French in the 1700s.

Now on with the vocabulary.

Rob: Yes, we had a lot of financial terms

in this programme. We had

cashflow forecast. This is a calculation

of how much money you can expect to

have at a particular time in the future.

Neil: And the cashflow forecast

is based on knowing your income,

which is the money you have coming in

and your expenditure, the money

you have going out.

Rob: You also need to know your assets,

which is the value of things

you own as well as savings and

investments. This is balanced against

your liabilities, which is the term

for the money that you owe,

for example on credit cards.

Neil: And finally we had the expression

'to give someone a hand'

meaning to help someone.

Well, that's all from us in this programme.

We look forward to your

company next time.

Until then, you can find us in all the usual

places on social media, online and on our

app. Just search for bbclearninglish. Bye,

and thanks, Rob, for giving me a hand.

Rob: No, thank you for giving me a hand.

Bye!