Episode 6 • Money
Flat broke
Throw your money around
Shop around
A steal
Be ripped off
Story
My brother-in-law never had a lot of money. In fact, he was flat broke for most of his adult life. Well, that was until two years ago, when he finally started his own company and became incredibly successful. He made a lot of money very quickly. Since this was the first time he could actually afford to do it, he went a little crazy, you could say, and started throwing his money around, buying all sorts of useless things. One day he called me, he said he wanted to buy another car and wanted me to go with him. We shopped around for a few days and then he finally found the car he was looking for. It was a beautiful Mercedes. The car salesman kept insisting that it was a steal, that for $75,000 it was a great car and it was impossible to beat that price. So, guess what? He bought it. A few days later we were driving by a car dealer and saw the exact same car, only its price was $50,000. He had definitely been ripped off.
Questions
Flat broke
'He was flat broke for most of his adult life.'
• If you are flat broke, how much money do you have?
If you are flat broke, you have no money, no money at all.
• How about in the bank?
You don't even have money in the bank. If you're flat broke, you just have nothing.
• Was there a time in your life when you were flat broke? How old were you?
There have been many many times in my life when I have been flat broke. I think I'll be flat broke very soon. I actually sort of quit my job yesterday, but I think the last time was probably when I was in the States and I was making money. I was working as an Opera and I was making money but it was just not enough money whatsoever to survive, and my family had to help me because I was flat broke.
Throw your money around
'He started throwing his money around.'
• If your throw your money around, do you get money or spend money?
In this case, you spend money.
• If you throw your money around, do you spend it carefully or carelessly?
If you throw your money around, that means that you spend it carelessly without really paying attention to what you're buying or how much money you're spending.
• Do you tend to throw your money around or do you spend it carefully?
Unfortunately, I must admit that if I have the money, when I'm lucky enough to have the money, I do tend to throw it around a little bit. I try to save money for a while, and then I'll just go on a shopping spree, enter my money around on stuff that I don't really need.
Shop around
'We shopped around for a few days.'
• If you’re shopping around, do you go to one place or many?
If you shop around, you go to many stores.
• Do you buy something in each place or do you just look?
If you shop around, you just go to different stores and look at the product. You may have a specific product in mind, you're just going to go and look at the price.
• What is the purpose of shopping around? Finding the best deal or discovering new stores?
If you're shopping around, it's because you want to find the best deal obviously, so you look at one thing, the price of one thing here, the price of that same thing there, you compare it, and you go-- Technically, I'm hoping you would choose the store with the lower price.
• Do you normally shop around before buying something?
don't because I just don't have the patience to wait. Normally, I'm just like- I'm literally like a kid when it comes to buying. I'll see something, I'm like, I want it, and I'll buy it. Hopefully, you're not like me. You do shop around so you can find the best deal.
A steal
'It was a steal.'
• Is a steal something stolen or bought?
I know it has steal but it has nothing to do with stealing. When you're talking about a steal, it means that you've bought it.
• Is a steal something you buy for a higher or lower price than it is usually sold for?
If it's a steal, that means that it has a lower price, a lot of times a much lower price, than it usually has.
• Is it a good thing to find a steal or is it a bad thing?
You found something that is usually sold for a certain price and now you find it for much, much less. Obviously, it's a good thing, you should celebrate.
• Can you remember the last time you bought something thinking it was a steal?
No, I can't. It's not something physical but maybe an accommodation. We've been traveling a lot, and the last place we stayed at, it was an Airbnb. It was a double bedroom and we paid, drum-roll, $9 for the night. I think that was a steal. What do you think?
Be ripped off
'He had definitely been ripped off.'
• If you get ripped off, are you charged more or less than you should be charged?
My friend, if you have been ripped off, I'm afraid you have been charged more than you should have been charged.
• When do you normally find out you’ve been ripped off, while paying or after paying?
Normally, you find out after paying or after they tell you the price. You can go, "Oh man, I think I've been ripped off."
• If someone rips you off, do they do it accidentally or on purpose? Have you ever had to dip into your savings? What for?
Again, I'm afraid, if they do it, if someone rips you off, is because they want to do it, because they want to take advantage of you.
• Have you ever been ripped off? When? What did you buy?
m sure I've been ripped off plenty of times, but I don't know. If I have to think of one specific time, I remember it clearly, it was my first time in New York City and I got on a cab and later- so I paid, I forget how much I paid, but it was a lot. Then I tell my New York friends and they were like, "Yep, Lara, you've been ripped off".
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