𝗕𝘂𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 | 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 | season 3 | 𝗘𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 16 - en

Hello everyone and welcome to English Pod. My name is Marco.

>> My name is Katherine. And today we've got an upper intermediate level lesson

for you all about money. >> That's right. We are trading money.

We're actually negotiating in this very popular topic nowadays, the whole

foreign exchange market. >> Okay. So, we're talking about currency,

which is the money of different countries. For example, the currency of

Ecuador is >> the US dollar.

Yeah. Yeah. Hard to believe, but true. I'll tell you all about it later.

>> Okay. Well, the currency of America is also the US dollar. So, with that in

mind, let's listen to today's dialogue. >> Hey, John. I haven't seen you in ages.

What's new? What have you been up to? Pete, nice to see you. Well, on top of

the norm, you know, life and kids and work, I've actually gotten into doing

some trading. >> Trading? You big guy? What are you

trading? Currencies. Currencies as in euros, dollars, pounds, and rupees. It's

called Forex. Foreign exchange. The great thing about it is that I don't

have to invest a huge amount. I put in a margin deposit, and then I can buy and

sell up to 100 times that much. I don't understand. You're buying and selling

money. >> You got it. Just last night, I made $150

last night. Yeah, it's a 24-hour market. I bought some REMMBB earlier at a low

asking price, but last night it appreciated drastically. So, I made a

split-second decision and sold all of my R&B at an amazing bid. I've also done

some trading with Swiss Franks and Australian dollars and Hong Kong

dollars. I've made some good profits, but I've also suffered some losses.

Depends on a lot of factors. It's just like any other market. In total, I've

made about $500 in the past few months. >> You're kidding. I'm on. Where do I sign

up? All right, we're back. So, uh, this guy

is trading currencies as we heard. And well, we're going to talk about a lot of

the specific vocab that he used about this topic. So, why don't we take a look

at some of those now in language takeaway.

language takeaway. >> Well, the first thing I think we should

talk about is one of the first things that he says actually Peter says, "I

haven't seen you in ages." >> I haven't seen you in ages. Right. So,

obviously, he hasn't seen him in a long time. And that's what in ages means.

>> That's right. So, we haven't seen each other in ages.

>> Mhm. So, uh what other ways can we use in ages or or the or the word ages?

Well, you could actually say it's been ages.

>> So that means it's been a long time. >> It's been a long time. Or we haven't

gone out for ages. >> Okay. So then you can use it with for

for ages. >> For ages in ages. So the key word here

is ages which means a long time. >> Long time. Okay. And well uh he hasn't

seen him in ages. And the guy's like, "Well, you know what? I've actually gone

into trading." >> So that means he's started doing some

trading >> right now. Trading is a very broad word

because you can trade as in this case currencies which is basically to buy and

sell currencies. >> But you could also trade stocks, right?

>> Mhm. You can trade stocks or even people that are involved in import export. They

are involved in trading. >> Trading. So basically trading is buying

and selling something, >> right? So you're trading. You are

exchanging a product for money or money for a product.

>> But the difference is you're not actually making any products,

>> right? >> Mhm.

>> Okay. So that's that's called trading. You're not really manufacturing

anything. You're just exchanging goods and services and money. All right, so

that's for trading. Now, moving on. He was explaining how the foreign exchange

market works. And he says, I don't have to invest a huge amount. I put in a

margin deposit and then I can buy and sell up to 100 times that much.

>> So, Marco, here's the question. What is a margin deposit? Because a deposit is

basically money that you put invest somewhere or that you you pay in,

>> right? Well, basically a margin deposit is like a percentage. So, he basically

puts in a percentage of what he intends to buy. So, for example, a margin

deposit of $1,000 might be $1 or $10. >> Okay. So, maybe if it's $10, you're

talking about a 1% margin. >> Mhm. Exactly. So, that's what he means

by a margin deposit. And that's why he explains that you don't have to have a

large amount of money in order to trade in the foreign exchange market. You just

put in a margin deposit and then you can work around that.

>> Well, it sounds pretty easy, but then he explains some more details about it and

it gets to be a little bit more complicated. That's right. He explained

about how he makes money and how he bought some Chinese Remen B and then he

sold it because it appreciated drastically. So he bought it when it was

cheap and he sold it when it was expensive. So the price changed,

>> right? >> So this kind of price change when

something goes from cheap to expensive, it's called appreciating.

>> Mhm. >> Appreciation. So the verb is to

appreciate. >> It's very different from using it in the

sense of you appreciate someone, right? Like, oh, I really appreciate you.

>> Yeah. No, it's very different. We could say this about most goods uh or

investments. For example, my parents bought a house in 1970 and the value of

the house has really appreciated over the last 40 years. So now the value is

much much greater. >> Mhm. And actually just uh mentioning it

while we're on the topic to appreciate as you say is something becomes more

expensive. The opposite when something becomes cheaper or maybe the value goes

down is to depreciate. >> Depreciate. So that D at the beginning

means it's going down. >> Right? Okay. And moving on to our last

word for language takeaway. So when he was talking about selling the Chinese

currency, he said that he sold it at an amazing bid. Okay, let's talk about bid

here. B I D bid. What does this mean? >> So to bid is to place an offer for

something. >> Okay, so for example, at an auction when

someone is selling many old objects or some art, um I can bid $100,

>> right? And maybe someone doesn't accept my bid,

>> but if they do accept my bid, then I pay for it.

>> Right? So, basically, a bid is just another way of saying an offer. Uh

you're offering a certain amount of money for that uh product or that

service. And you see it a lot, for example, on eBay, right?

>> That's right. So, eBay is is an auction website basically, and someone who's

selling some someone can see many many bids and they select the best bid.

>> Exactly. So, that's what a bid is. So, that's all we have for language

takeaway. Let's move on now to Fluency Builder.

>> Fluency Builder. Marco, what have you been up to lately?

I never see you. >> All right, this is actually a very

common uh sentence. What have you been up to? But most English learners don't

really understand what it means. >> Well, this is a really interesting point

because I say this all the time. This is very native, very colloquial. What have

you been up to? >> It's almost the same as saying what's

up. >> What's up? Or where have you been

recently? What have you been doing recently? Right.

>> Um how's your life? >> Right? So this part up to what have you

been up to? It doesn't really say much if you translate it literally.

>> Um but basically it's what have you been doing? What have you been spending your

time on? So to be up to means to do something to do,

>> right? And there are many other definitions of up to, but in this case,

what have you been up to means that what have you been doing?

>> So, next time you see a friend you haven't seen in a week or two, you can

say, "What have you been up to?" >> Mhm. All right. And John answers, "Well,

you know, on top of the norm, wife, kids, and work." That phrase right

there, on top of the norm. Well, the norm here means the normal. That means

basically normal life. I've been working. I've got my kids, my wife. On

top of the norm, just life is normal, >> right? So the norm are the wife, kids,

and work. On top of that, I'm actually gotten into trading, right?

>> So the normal situation, the normal life is wife, kids, and work. And he's saying

on top of that, I've actually been doing this.

>> Exactly. >> Okay. And now moving on to when he's

explaining again the the market and and the currencies, he talked about an

asking price. Okay, asking price. This is remember we were talking about bids.

We could say that someone has an asking price, which is the price they would

like to receive for an object or a service that they are selling.

>> And so for example, I'm going to sell my desk. My asking price is 100 bucks.

$100. Maybe you don't want to pay that much, but my asking price is the way

that I'm going to start. That's how much I want for it.

>> Right. So, that's your asking price. That's how much you ideally want to sell

it for, but you can negotiate. You are willing to accept maybe a lower offer.

>> Exactly. >> Okay. And what is our last phrase?

>> A split-second decision. This is really, really important. These words go

together very often. Split-second >> and decision.

>> Okay. So, that basically means that you made a very quick decision. That's

right. Split second, very fast. It's almost like it's less than a second. And

so a split-second decision means a decision in no time. It's very, very

quick. >> So we can actually mix split second with

other things, right? >> Mhm.

>> For example, so maybe you can say he reacted in a split second and avoided

the crash. >> Okay. So good for him. He reacted

quickly enough to avoid the accident. >> That's right. So split-second, very

fast, very quickly. A split-second decision. a decision that was made very

fast. >> Okay, so that's all we have for Fluency

Builder. Why don't we go back listen to this dialogue one more time and we'll be

back to talk a little bit more. Hey John, I haven't seen you in ages.

What's new? What have you been up to? Pete, nice to see you. Well, on top of

the norm, you know, life and kids and work, I've actually gotten into doing

some trading. Trading? You big guy? What are you trading?

>> Currencies. Currencies, as in euros, dollars, pounds, and rupees. It's called

Forex, foreign exchange. The great thing about it is that I don't have to invest

a huge amount. I put in a margin deposit, and then I can buy and sell up

to 100 times that much. I don't understand. You're buying and selling

money. >> You got it. Just last night, I made $150

last night. Yeah, it's a 24-hour market. I bought some REMBB earlier at a low

asking price, but last night it appreciated drastically. So, I made a

split-second decision and sold all of my R&B at an amazing bid. I've also done

some trading with Swiss Franks and Australian dollars and Hong Kong

dollars. I've made some good profits, but I've also suffered some losses.

Depends on a lot of factors. It's just like any other market. In total, I've

made about $500 in the past few months. >> You're kidding. I'm on. Where do I sign

up? So, Marco, you have to explain this to

me. Um, we're talking about currency today. So, every nation has a currency.

>> Um, for example, in the dialogue, we learned that India has rupees,

>> pounds are in Britain. And Britain has pounds and Australia has Australian

dollars. America has American dollars. Uh but you just said earlier that uh

Ecuador has American dollars too. >> That's right. Actually uh Ecuador went

through a very difficult economic situation in late 1998 early 1999

uh where there was a hyperinflation. So basically there was an inflation that

was very very very large. So that means that the old currency lost its value

very fast. >> Exactly. So for example, if uh the

currency before in Ecuador used to be sucres.

>> So if 10 sucres was $1, all of a sudden it was 50 sucras was $1.

>> Oh wow. >> So and it got to the point where goods

and services went from 3,000 to a dollar to 25,000 to a dollar.

>> Okay. So people have bags full of money and it's not really worth anything

anymore. Exactly. So what happened was the the central bank couldn't absorb

this uh this currency depreciation. They couldn't really regulate prices.

Obviously salaries were were about the same. So you have a lot less money

comparatively. And so the government decided that there were two options.

Either they would follow Argentina's example what they did a couple of years

before and set a fixed rate. So in Argentina it's 3 pesos to a dollar.

or we would just get rid of our currency and and just use US dollars.

>> So that's what they did, right? >> They use US dollars and now if you ever

travel to Ecuador, you will the you will use US dollars. The same exact bills

that you use in the US are the same exact bills in in Ecuador.

>> So no need to exchange currency. >> No need to exchange currency. And that's

why I guess um there are many factors that people say are are a lot better.

For example, trading has become a lot less complicated because now you're

negotiating in US dollars as in everywhere else in the world. But then

other things as you know not having a national currency also affect. So there

are a lot of things going on. But it's an interesting topic. Very interesting.

Well, so maybe for those of you who are listening, you could tell us about your

country and your currency. Um what do you use? What do you spend money on? And

do people buy and trade currencies where you're from?

>> Exactly. Or maybe you can even enlighten us with uh the foreign with the exchange

rate. Maybe usually it's a good question to ask how much is a liter of milk or

how much is a haircut, >> right? Because these are things that

everyone needs so the price doesn't change that much.

>> Exactly. We're really curious to know how inexpensive or maybe very expensive

your country is. >> In today's story, we'll uncover five

powerful lessons about managing money. lessons you might not learn in school

but are crucial for achieving financial success. As we dive into Sam's journey,

we'll also learn some new words and see how to use them in sentences. This will

help us practice English in a fun and easy way. So stay with us till the end.

Once upon a time in a bustling little town, there lived a 27year-old man named

Sam. One afternoon, he sat on the side of the

road, lost in thought. Despite working hard for 5 years, his life hadn't

improved. Sam wondered if there was a way to escape poverty and achieve true

wealth. As he strolled by a grand mansion, something compelled him to step

past the tall iron gate without permission. Little did he know, this

daring act would lead him to a life-changing lesson about money.

From afar, he saw an elderly man sitting on a garden bench with a cup of coffee

in hand. This man was Mr. Hayes, the mansion's owner, a wealthy but humble

and generous soul. Sam approached him politely apologizing.

I'm sorry for entering without permission, Mr. Hayes.

Recognizing Sam, Mr. Hayes was surprised by his sudden visit, but welcomed him

kindly, curious to know why he had come. Sam took a seat beside Mr. Hayes and

began, "Sir, I've worked for 5 years earning a decent wage, yet my life

hasn't changed. I don't splurge, but I just can't seem

to get ahead. Do you have any advice on how someone like me could become

wealthy?" With a warm smile, Mr. Hayes replied, "Anyone can achieve wealth,

Sam, including you." He continued, "I'll share five principles about money that

you won't learn in school. Follow these carefully, and I assure you, you'll find

yourself on the path to financial success."

Eagerly, Sam listened as Mr. Hayes began. "The first rule, Mr. Hayes said,

is to spend less than you earn. This is the foundation. If you don't master

this, you can't move on to the other steps. For example, if you make $5,000 a

month, set aside at least $2,000. If it's $3,000,

save $1,000. Avoid expenses that exceed your income,

whether loans or gambling. Even with a six-f figure salary, without this rule,

you'll remain in debt. Sam nodded thoughtfully, absorbing each word. Mr.

Hayes took a calm sip of his coffee and continued. The second rule is to have an

emergency fund. Life is unpredictable. Car repairs, a leaky roof, or even

layoffs can happen at any time. Without an emergency fund, you're forced to

borrow or sell assets at a loss, which restricts your options and adds stress.

Think of it as your safety net, protecting your finances when unexpected

events arise. Sam nodded again, appreciating the wisdom in this

approach. Let's get to the third lesson, which is investing. Now, people like you

might feel unsure about investing in a business or stock since you may not have

much knowledge. So, the best investment you can make right now is in yourself.

Curious, Sam asked, "How, sir?" Mr. Hayes continued, "Take your skill set,

whether it's carpentry, plumbing, or customer service. Invest your time,

energy, and money into mastering it further. Learn where your boss sources

materials or explore ways to market your services better. Use some of your

savings to improve your expertise, attend courses, buy tools, or read

relevant books. Realizing the value of these words, Sam

looked at Mr. Hayes with newfound determination,

regretting he hadn't learned this sooner. Mr. Hayes continued with the

fourth lesson. Now that you're gaining skills, it's time to start earning more.

Once you've honed your abilities, maybe you'll start your own business, and your

income will grow. You're no longer paid per hour, but earned based on what you

produce. The harder you work, the more you earn.

The sky was getting darker, yet Sam felt no urge to leave. He was eager to learn

the final principle. Mr. Hayes looked at him and said, "And

finally, the fifth lesson, create passive income. When you've applied the

first four principles, you should have extra money. Now it's time to let your

money work for you. You can invest in property, start a rental business, buy a

franchise, or research other sources of passive income. Think carefully and

choose wisely. How about it, Sam? Are you ready to take

on these lessons? Mr. Hayes asked, ending the conversation with a gentle

smile. Brimming with excitement, Sam replied. I used to just go to work, save

a little, and hope for wealth to come my way. But I now understand that there's a

real strategy and I'm thankful sir for the invaluable guidance. Today we

learned new words and sentences through this story about wealth and financial

wisdom. Remember learning English can be fun when you practice regularly. So keep

listening, learning, and growing. Make sure to like, comment, and share how

this story helped you improve your English. Thank you for watching and I'll

see you in the next story where we'll continue learning together.

The English Pod audio review. Listen to the meaning then say the

vocabulary word. >> Something is usual or expected.

Norm the money that a country uses.

Currency. The sum of money required to reinstate.

Margin deposit taking effect rapidly.

Drastically, very quickly, just a second.

Split second. An offer to pay a particular amount of

money. bid.

>> Let's try that faster. >> The sum of money required to reinstate

margin deposit. Something is usual or expected.

Norm very quickly, just a second.

Split second. An offer to pay a particular amount of

money. bid

taking effect rapidly drastically.

The money that a country uses currency.

>> Now say the word and hear it in a sentence.

>> Norm. What's the norm in this company

concerning protocol? Norm.

This is the norm, so you'd better get used to it.

Norm delivery. McDonald's and street vendors

are the norms around here. Currency.

Before I went to France, I had to change some of my Canadian currency into euros.

Currency. What's the currency in this country?

Currency. My country's currency is worth next to

nothing in USD. Margin deposit.

He decided to start with a margin deposit of GBP 100

margin deposit. I can't believe that I can trade with

USD 1 million deposit when I've only put in a margin deposit of USD 10,000

margin deposit. One has to be careful with trading using

a margin deposit because the risk of losing more money than one has are high.

Split second. The gang members were closing in on me

fast, so I made a split-second decision to run instead of fight.

Split second. My heart pounded as I made a

split-second decision and took hold of her hand.

Split second. My split-second decision to try a trick

on my bicycle in order to impress my friends didn't end well.

bid. The current bid ask for EURUSD is

1.3998-79 bid.

I bought euros at an ask of 1.42. $4235 and sold British pounds at a bid of

$15001. Bid

the bid for Japanese yen and the ask for Hong Kong dollars are really good right

now if you trade in US currency.