Neil: Hello, and welcome to
6 Minute English. I'm Neil.
Rob: And I'm Rob.
Neil: In this programme we're talking
about finance and in particular
planning for our future lifestyles.
Rob: I can barely afford
my current lifestyle!
Neil: Same here, but perhaps we'll pick up
some good tips today. Before that though,
a question. Being a millionaire may be
an impossible dream for most of us,
but when was the word first used
in English? Was it:
a) 1600s, b) 1700s, or c) 1800s -
What do you think, Rob?
Rob: I'm going to guess that it's the 1600s
as there have always been
very wealthy people.
Neil: Well, I'll reveal the answer later.
Now, the BBC Money Box programme
covers all sorts of financial features.
Recently they were talking about
lifestyle financial planning,
which is planning your finances to meet
the kind of lifestyle you want to have.
Julie Lord leads a financial planning
organisation and she talked about
the process of lifestyle financial
planning. How many numbers does
she say you need to start with?
Julie Lord: Well, we would start by saying
that we need to put together
a lifetime cashflow forecast or a model.
You just need four numbers: your income,
your expenditure, assets, liabilities and
then we project forward to show you
what sort of lifestyle you will have
if you do nothing at all and if
indeed you do some of the things that -
perhaps an ISA or a Pension or any
other kind of financial product -
might help you with.
Neil: So how many numbers do you need?
Rob: She says that you start
with just four numbers.
Neil: That's right. The first of
these numbers is your income. This is
the money that you
have coming in. Your salary, for example.
Rob: Then there is the number
for your expenditure. This is the money
you have going out: for rent, food,
entertainment, transport and so on.
Neil: The next number was for assets.
This is the cash value of things that you
own. For example property, cars, jewellery
as well as savings and investments,
that kind of thing.
Rob: And finally there is liabilities.
This is the money that you owe,
for example on credit cards or loans.
Neil: So if you know these details,
she says they can come up
with a lifetime cashflow forecast,
which is a calculation of how much
money you can expect to have in the
future and if that is enough to meet
your expectations. Do you have those
details? Do you know your numbers, Rob?
Rob: I have a very detailed spreadsheet
where I do list my income and
expenditure. So I do know
from month to month how much money
I need and how much I can spend.
Neil: That sounds very organised!
What does it tell you about your future?
Rob: Well, it just reminds me of exactly
how much money I don't have.
It's quite depressing!
How about you, Neil?
Neil: Oh, I live in blissful ignorance.
I have no idea how big my debts are.
I try not to worry about it.
I kind of think I'm much too young to
worry about it now and that as
if by magic it will all work out in the end.
So it would be difficult for me to come up
those four numbers. Anyway, let's listen to
Julie Lord again describing the lifestyle
financial planning process.
Julie Lord: Well, we would start by saying
that we need to put together
a lifetime cashflow forecast or a model.
You just need four numbers: your income,
your expenditure, assets, liabilities
and then we project forward to show you
what sort of lifestyle you will have
if you do nothing at all and if
indeed you do some of the things that -
perhaps an ISA or a pension or any
other kind of financial product - might
help you with.
Neil: Is lifestyle financial planning only
for older people with a good pension? Not
according to Julie Lord.
Julie Lord: Well, it's not all about old age,
is it? I mean, there are people... we have
quite a number of younger clients
who come to us and say 'we just
want to get financially organised,
we've heard about all this stuff, these
financial products, no idea really what
they are or, more importantly, what they're
going to do for us, so can you give us
a hand to help us look forward to see
what will happen'.
Neil: So she also has younger clients
who ask for her company's help.
Rob: Yes, she uses the phrase, give us
a hand, which means to help someone.
If you give someone
a hand, you help them.
Neil: Exactly, in the way that I give you
a hand with 6 Minute English.
Rob: Well, I think I give you a hand rather
than the other way around, Neil.
Neil: Really, well let's not fall out about
it. Let's listen to Julie Lord again.
Julie Lord: Well, it's not all about old age,
is it? I mean, there are people... we have
quite a number of younger clients
who come to us and say 'we just want
to get financially organised, we've heard
about all this stuff, these financial
products, no idea really what
they are or, more importantly,
what they're going to do for us,
so can you give us a hand to help us
look forward to see what will happen'.
Neil: It's nearly time now to review
our vocabulary, but first, let's have
the answer to our quiz question.
When was the word millionaire first
used in English? Was it:
a) 1600s, b) 1700s, or c) 1800s -
What did you think, Rob?
Rob: Well, I guessed and said
it was the 1600s.
Neil: Well, not a good guess this time, I'm
afraid. It's actually a lot later. It was
the 1800s when it was first used
in English, though had appeared
in French in the 1700s.
Now on with the vocabulary.
Rob: Yes, we had a lot of financial terms
in this programme. We had
cashflow forecast. This is a calculation
of how much money you can expect to
have at a particular time in the future.
Neil: And the cashflow forecast
is based on knowing your income,
which is the money you have coming in
and your expenditure, the money
you have going out.
Rob: You also need to know your assets,
which is the value of things
you own as well as savings and
investments. This is balanced against
your liabilities, which is the term
for the money that you owe,
for example on credit cards.
Neil: And finally we had the expression
'to give someone a hand'
meaning to help someone.
Well, that's all from us in this programme.
We look forward to your
company next time.
Until then, you can find us in all the usual
places on social media, online and on our
app. Just search for bbclearninglish. Bye,
and thanks, Rob, for giving me a hand.
Rob: No, thank you for giving me a hand.
Bye!