Personal finance ENGLISH COLLOCATIONS IN USE (ADVANCED)

ENGLISH COLLOCATIONS IN USE (ADVANCED)

UNIT 33

Personal finance

A	Managing your finances Read this leaflet on personal financial management given out by a university to its students. Note the collocations. KEEPING AFLOAT1 – HOW TO MANAGE YOUR FINANCES While you’re doing your degree, your main source of income may be a student loan or, if you’re lucky, a grant or scholarship. But you may well still need to supplement2 your income by getting some kind of part-time work. Here are some tips for avoiding financial problems: ·       Open a current account at the campus bank – they have a team there specialises in helping students with their financial matters. ·       If you get into debt, try to clear3 your debts as soon as possible. ·       If things are difficult, you may have to economise by, say, cutting down on luxuries. This is far better than running up huge debts4. ·       If you have a credit-card debt, try to make a payment every month, however small. Never exceed your agreed credit limit. ·       It’s a bad idea to borrow heavily to repay your debts. Always seek advice from your bank about how to clear outstanding5 debts and pay back loans. ·       Never run up an overdraft6 if you can avoid it. If you do need one, remember that most banks will offer students an interest-free overdraft. 1 having enough money to pay what you owe (can also be staying afloat) 2 add something to something to make it larger or better 3 pay in full 4 continuing to spend and therefore owing a large amount of money 5 not yet paid 6 amount of money that a customer with a bank account is temporarily allowed to owe to the bank
B	Financial crimes and disputes These newspaper extracts are all concerned with financial crimes and problems. Credit-card fraud1 has reached an all-time high. One in ten people is a victim of identity theft2 and the crime is on the increase. Mr Ambrose spent a fortune staying at expensive hotels. He managed to run up3 a bill of £17,000 at one hotel. He used his employer’s funds and falsified4 records. He made fraudulent claims for travel expenses. People are being encouraged to put down a deposit5 on new homes, thanks to low interest rates. But if borrowers default on repayments6, banks are obliged to call in loans7. The company is now under new management. Its backers have written off debts8 of £500,000 on the promise of new cost-cutting measures designed to solve the company’s ­ financial problems. 1 crime of misusing another person’s credit card without their permission 2 stealing someone’s personal details, usually in order to access their bank accounts or credit cards 3 accumulate 4 changed something, e.g. a document, in order to deceive people 5 pay a sum of money in advance as part of a total payment 6 fail to pay a debt 7 demand that people pay back the money the bank has lent to them 8 accepted that an amount of money has been lost or that a debt will not be paid

EXERCISES

33.1	Match words from each box to form collocations from the opposite page and use them to complete the sentences below. borrow make spend stay supplement afloat a fortune heavily my income a payment 1 I ______________ of €500 every month to my credit-card account. 2 When I was a student I got a job in a fast-food outlet to ______________. 3 I used to ______________ on books when I was at university. 4 I had no grant or scholarship, so I had to ______________ to finance my studies. 5 Small firms find it difficult to ______________ when costs and interest rates are high.
33.2	Copy and complete the collocation bubbles using words from the box. Some words collocate only with debt, some only with overdra­ft and some with both. Use a dictionary to help you find one more collocation for each bubble. to arrange a(n) to pay off a(n) deep in to be in to get a(n) to clear a (n) an authorised a hefty facility to run up a(n) to get into a bad -ridden the national
33.3	Correct the collocation errors in these sentences. 1 The firm has huge debts and has had to borrow $10 million. The new chief executive has introduced cost-cutting methods. 2 When I left university I had no upstanding debts, unlike most of my friends, who owed thousands of pounds. 3 The manager falsified company recordings and stole money from her employer. 4 I had no resource of income, so I had to get a job, and quickly. 5 We placed down a deposit on a new car last week. 6 She faulted on her loan repayment and had to sell her business. 7 Many people don’t trust online banking because they are afraid of identification theft . 8 If we don’t cut up on luxuries, we’re going to find ourselves in serious debt. 9 There are special off ers for students who enter a current account at the university bank. 10 You will pay a lot of interest if you go over your discussed credit limit.
33.4	Answer the questions about collocations from the opposite page. 1 What object is a person or company being compared to when we use the collocation keep or stay afloat metaphorically? 2 What are you eventually expected to do with a loan? 3 If a bank calls in a loan, do they (a) give it (b) write it off (c) demand full payment? 4 If someone defaults on a payment, do they (a) not make it (b) make it in full (c) partially make it? 5 What is the crime called when someone makes illegal use of another person’s credit card?
33.5	Complete each sentence using the word in brackets in the appropriate form. 1 The accused was found guilty of ___________ company records. (FALSE) 2 The insurance company takes all ___________ claims very seriously. (FRAUD) 3 I try to make a ___________ into my savings account every month. (PAY) 4 Identity ___________ is becoming an increasingly common crime. (THIEF) 5 I was glad that the bank was able to offer me an ___________ overdraft . (INTEREST)

ANSWER KEY

33.1 1 make a payment 2 supplement my income 3 spend a fortune 4 borrow heavily 5 stay afloat 33.2 to arrange an overdraft a bad debt to be in debt to clear a debt deep in debt overdraft facility to get an overdraft to get into debt a hefty debt/overdraft the national debt to pay off a debt / an overdraft debt-ridden to run up a debt / an overdraft an unauthorised overdraft Other possible collocations: to repay a debt / to owe a debt (of gratitude) / a debt mounts up an overdraft limit / to reduce your overdraft / a sizeable overdraft 33.3 1 The firm has huge debts and has had to borrow $10 million. The new chief executive has introduced cost-cutting measures. 2 When I left university I had no outstanding debts, unlike most of my friends, who owed thousands of pounds. 3 The manager falsified company records and stole money from her employer. 4 I had no source of income, so I had to get a job, and quickly. 5 We put down a deposit on a new car last week. 6 She defaulted on her loan repayment and had to sell her business. 7 Many people don’t trust online banking because they are afraid of identity theft. 8 If we don’t cut down on luxuries, we’re going to find ourselves in serious debt. 9 There are special offers for students who open a current account at the university bank. 10 You will pay a lot of interest if you go over your agreed credit limit. 33.4 1 The metaphor is that of a boat which must keep/stay afloat (otherwise it will sink under water). 2 You’re expected to pay it back. 3 (c). To write off a loan would mean to accept that it will never be paid. 4 (a) 5 credit-card fraud 33.5 1 falsifying 2 fraudulent 3 payment 4 theft 5 interest-free