1 DIALOGUE
- We're going on a skiing trip in Italy next month, would you like to
come along?
- Sounds like fun! But I'm afraid I'll have to pass...
- How come?
- Money's a bit tight at the moment...
- Oh, I'm sorry! Is everything alright?
- Well, in a nutshell , I've been laid off and my savings are running low...
- I had no idea you were struggling! I'd be happy to help you out, you
know that, right?
- That's very kind of you, Jeff! I'm fine! It's not like I'm
starving!.. Plus, I have a rule, never borrow from friends...
- Don't be silly! Let me just write you a cheque! How much do you need?
- Nineteen hundred quid…
2 INTERVIEW
I: Joan, let's start with you.
J: Oh yes, age before beauty.
I: Joan, do you think people have the same attitude to money now as
you did when you were a young woman?
J: Well, I'm 67 now, so things have changed a lot since I was young.
But I think the main difference is that I wouldn't dream of spending
money I didn't have. I've never been a penny overdrawn at the bank,
and I've never had a credit card. I wouldn't be able to sleep at
night. But my daughter' always seems to be overdrawn, and it doesn't
bother her. Isn't that right, Sally?
S: Yes, Mum's right really. I do have credit cards, and I am in the
red, but that's because things are so much more expensive nowadays.
I: And what about you, Nell. You're 23; and you've recently started
your first job. Are you finding it hard to make ends meet?
N:. Definitely — I mean, I'm not earning much yet and I'm paying back
my student loan, so at the end of the month I'm always broke.
I: Sally, what does most of your money go on?
S: Food — feeding a family costs a fortune.
N: I go and eat at Mum's so that I can spend money on clothes. I've
got a weakness for designer clothes without the bank balance to match.
J You see that's another thing — we didn't have all this designer
stuff. I made my own clothes! And I had one good handbag and one good
pair of shoes. Not like these two — they have something new on every
time I see them.
S: But one of the main differences between us is that I work and earn
my own money, whereas you had to depend on an allowance from dad.
J: Yes, I was a housewife so I didn't have a salary. Women are much
more independent financially nowadays and that's a good thing.
I: What advice would you give people about managing their finances?
J Don't spend what you haven't got and always have something put by
for a rainy day.
S: Mm, I think 'life's too short — you can't take it with you, so have
a good time and enjoy it while you can.
J: I don't know how she turned out so irresponsible. I'm not mean, and
I do treat myself to the odd luxury occasionally, but I do think you
should be more careful, Sally.
S: I know, Mum,but I'm going to win the lottery, so I'm going be loaded.
I: Well, that's a good question to end on — how would each of you
spend a million-pound lottery win?
J: Oh, I'd splash out on a world cruise —it's something I've always dreamt of.
S: I'd buy a little place in France and a private plane so I could go
there every weekend.
N: I'd invest it.
J / S: What?
N: Ha ha ... I'm only joking. I'd buy everything in Gucci.
3 SONG: ORDINARY WORLD BY Duran Duran
Came in from a rainy Thursday on the avenue
Thought I heard you talking softly
I turned on the lights, the TV, and the radio
Still I can't escape the ghost of you
What has happened to it all?
Crazy someone say
Where is the life that I recognize?
Gone away
But I won't cry for yesterday
There's an ordinary world
Somehow I have to find
And as I try to make my way
To the ordinary world
I will learn to survive
Passion or coincidence once prompted you to say
"Pride will tear us both apart"
Well now prides gone out the window
Cross the rooftops, run away
Left me in the vacuum of my heart
What is happening to me?
Crazy someone say
Where is my friend when I need you most?
Gone away
But I won't cry for yesterday
There's an ordinary world
Somehow I have to find
And as I try to make my way
To the ordinary world
I will learn to survive
Papers in the roadside tell of suffering and greed
Fear today, forgot tomorrow
Besides the news of holy war and holy need
Ours is just a little sorrowed talk
And I don't cry for yesterday
There's an ordinary world
Somehow I have to find
And as I try to make my way
To the ordinary world
I will learn to survive
Every world is my world
(I will learn to survive)
Any world is my world
(I will learn to survive)
Any world is my world
Every world is our world