Personal finance: Balancing your books

1. Cash, cheques and cards
_ I was broke/skint at the end of last month. (had no money left; broke = informal; skint = very informal)
_ I'm rolling in it this month; I got a cheques for $3,000 for some work I did. (informal: have a lot of money)
_ It's diffocult to make ends meet sometimes with three children and only one parent working. (to survive financially)
_ Things are a bit tight at the moment. (informal: my finances are not good)
_ I was strapped for cash and had to borrow money from my parents. (informal: needed cash and had very little)
_ She gave me a cheque for what she owed me but it bounced. (the bank refused to pay it)
_ Who shall I make this cheque out to? (What name shall I put on it?)
_ Shall we put/stick this meal on my credit card? Then we can forget it. (informal)
_ Could you charge it to my credit card please? (formal)
_ The APR for this credit card is 23%, that's two per cent lower than my other card. (annual percentage rate of interest)
_ My card expires 05/04. (is not valid after)
_ Credit card fraud has increased in recent years. (illegal use of someone's card or account)

2. Saving, pensions, etc
The words in bold in these newsclips refer to longer-term aspect of personal finances.
_ Victims (n- nạn nhân) of last year's rail crash will receive lump sum (1) compensation (n- sự bồi thường) payments following a High Court decision today.
_ A golden handshake (2) of one milion pounds was paid to the boss of one of Britain's biggest companies today.
_ Mr Carslow had taken out an endowment (3) ten years earlier to pay for his son's education.
_ The thieves stole Mr and Mrs Freal's life-saving (4), which they kept under their bed in a metal box.
_ People will well-managed share portfolios (5) have done better than individuals who buy stocks and share privately.

(1) single, large payment
(2) large payment to someone on leaving a job
(3) combined insurance and savings plan that pays out after a fixed period.
(4) money saved over many years
(5) combination of stocks and shares of different kinds

Exercise:
_ This is a credit card. If you want one that you have to pay off each month, then you should get yourself a charge card.
_ She never used her card on 4th September. But someone did and bought hundreds of pounds of goods. It was a case of credit card fraud (n- gian lận)
_ I haven't got enough cash to pay for this meal, but they take credit cards; shall I just put/stick it on my credit card?
_ You'll take a cheque, will you? Good, Who should I make it out to?
_ He wrote me a cheque, but he had no money in his account so it bounced (v- đánh lừa).
_ I'm sorry, I can't lend you anything at all. I'm absolutely broke/skint.
_ I couldn't really afford it as I was a bit strapped for cash.
_ I have to be very careful how I spend my money; right now things are a bit tight.

_ The amount you pay each month or year for an insurance policy. (premium n- phi bao hiem)
_ A person who lends money at extremely high interest rates to people in financial difficulty. (loan shark)
_ Money you borrow to buy a house or flat. (mortgage)
_ Money you have to pay up to a certain level if you make an insurance claim. (excess)
_ Insurance you pay against illness. (health cover)
_ A scheme to provide you with an income when you retire. (pension plan)