12 Track 12

Unit 4

Money and Budgets

Chapter 2

My Money

Page 55

My Money

In this week’s students Around the World, Men Young Kim interviews an American university student, Lisa Conroy.

They talk about living on a student budget.

Min Young: Thanks for talking with me today, Lisa. Tell us a little about yourself.

Lisa: Well, I’m 21, and I’m a junior at a university in Chicago.

Min Young: How are you paying for your college education?

Lisa: My expenses for every semester are almost $15,000. At the start of each semester, I get $2,000 from my college scholarship. My parents pay the rest of the $10,000 tuition, and they gave me $2,000 for personal expenses. I have to pay the remaining $3,000 myself.

Min Young: How do you do that?

Lisa: I have a part-time job as a waitress. I worked three nights a week, and I usually earn about $400 a week. In a good week I can make $600, but in a bad week it can be less than $300.

Min Young: How do you spend that money?

Lisa: It helps to pay for my rent and meals at college. It also pays for things like my cell phone, books, transportation, and clothes.

Min Young: You don’t have much money for fun, do you?

Lisa: That’s true! My mother advised me to stick to my budget carefully so I don’t have to borrow. I don’t like to owe money.

And I don’t want to pay the bank any interest. I hardly ever go to the movies. My roommates and I usually rent movies and split the cost.

And, I don’t go to restaurants very often. My roommates and I usually cook our own food, so it’s cheaper to eat.

Min Young: How else do you save money?

Lisa: I try to walk or ride my bicycle to college. Oh, and I buy a lot of my clothes at second-hand stores.

You can find some very cheap, nice clothes in those stores. I also try to borrow books and magazines from the library, rather than buying them on my own.

My roommates and I are also very careful to save water and electricity, so we don’t have to pay a lot for those things.