When money is tight Lesson 9 of the adult life course of Mova's primary school: 19 sentences, each with its syntax tree and pragmatics. The lessons are written for Mova, and their agreed trees are part of Mova corpus 0.4 (CC BY-SA 4.0). How Mova does on its tests: the lesson at school .
0 Every family has spells when money is tight: after a big bill, when work hours are cut, or when prices rise faster than pay. 1 It does not mean the family is in danger; it means there is little left after the bills. 2 Grown-ups then make a budget, cut treats, buy own-brand food, wait for sales and save up instead of borrowing. 3 Some families use a food bank for a while, which is help, not shame. 4 Hard times are also when scammers strike, with messages that look urgent and real. 5 Example: in a kitchen in Auckland, Mum spreads the bills on the table and says "Let's sit down and do a budget." The children help write a list: rent, power, food, bus fares, and what is left. 6 Then they choose the cheap fun: a picnic and a library trip instead of the cinema. 7 You are not being punished when the answer is "not this month". 9 "Money's tight" means little is left after the bills for extras; it does not mean the family is in danger. 10 "We can't afford it" sometimes means there is no money for it, and sometimes that it is not worth the money compared with other things. 11 Inflation means prices rise over time, so the same pound buys less; if pay rises more slowly, families are worse off. 12 The cost of living is what it costs to pay for a home, food, energy and travel; a crisis is when these rise faster than pay. 13 A sale lowers prices; a bargain is only a bargain if you would have bought the thing anyway. 14 Own-brand food is often made in a similar way to famous brands but costs less because there is no big advertising. 16 A budget is a plan for money: what comes in, what must go out on bills, and what is left for food, fun and saving. 17 A food bank is a charity that gives free food parcels, usually after a referral from someone like a school or a doctor. 18 A text saying a parcel is held and asking for a small payment is a common scam to steal bank details. 19 Anyone offering free game coins for your login is a scammer trying to steal the account or a parent's card details. 20 Saving up is slower than borrowing but cheaper, because no interest is paid. ← previous Borrowing and debtnext → Moving house and renting a home↑ back to Adult life This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/9-when-money-is-tight/