Robert
* MONEY IS ROLLING IN
Hi Bill,
I came into some money recently. Thank God, I got rid of commuting to work every day! My great granny died in Paris and left me a tidy sum in Euros. Also I got my annual bonus last month, so the moneys been rolling in. Im seriously considering buying a flat and renting it out. I dont want to put money aside like the old fossils were doing their whole life, going to the bank and paying regular sums into their account each month no, nothing like that! If you have any idea how to reinvest that easy money into profitable shares, let me know! I promise, you wont need to cash up in your store every week and penny pinch then.
Frank
* A DESPERATE PLEA
Dad,
Really sorry, but Im going to have to ask you to send me $100 as soon as possible. I studied hard for my exams and so have had no chance to take a job to make any money. I can barely scrapeby on what my friends sometimes chip in. This time though, its even worse I was in the library, reading and my leg felt paralyzed. I was taken to hospital, but the doctors couldnt save it and this is now the second leg Ive lost. Fortunately, the university carried the payment over until next month, but Im now stuck in hospital without any means of making money for a long time. I cant move, I cant pay, its a catch-22 situation.
Dear son,
You wont believe it, but I tried to see you in the hospital, because your mother and I thought you were too timid to tell us the truth about your health. As you know we are barely scraping by on our low income and are not raking in huge profits from my business. I didnt manage to talk to your doctor, unfortunately, but I was lucky to meet a pretty nurse you had been out with the previous day. I have to admit she is worth losing not only another leg but your mind for too. As this is the third leg you have lost according to your letters, Im sure you ought to be used to this by now. If my memory serves me correctly, you lost the first one in a terrible accident when a tram ran you over and cut it off. The second one was bitten by a horse near the betting shop window, when you were staking your last penny on a horse at the hippodrome. Now, luckily, the third one has grown back but, tough luck, its paralyzed. So try to hobble along on any other one you may have left. When your mother and I met, we started renting a part of a house and had to solely rely on our existing hands and legs.
* MONEY GOES TO MONEY
Bill has finished a brokerage course at a bank and decided to make his first investment as an independent broker. He was assisted by a friend who has worked in the other bank for ten years and was said to be an experienced broker. One day he called Bill and said that his boss, a senior broker who was considered almost a god in NYSE, invited them to invest in shale gas development. At that time there was a boom in the industry. The senior broker hinted that he had been advised to do that by his friends from Federal Reserve Bank. Well get on to the gravy train, he promised. It was the kind of proposal, which Bill could not turn down. He shared this information with his wife Julie who reminded him that money didnt grow on trees. A month later Bills investment paid off and even the chairman praised him. The friends were on cloud nine. But another month passed, gas prices suddenly fell and the development of shale gas was halted across the country. Bill, his friend and the senior manager of the bank lost all they had earned and invested in this operation. Only the chairman, who had real friends in FRB and never told anyone about them, had made a stake on copper and put all his money in it just a few days before the gas prices dropped. So now he was rubbing his hands and kept muttering under his breath: money goes to money.
* UNPLEASANT SITUATION
Excuse me, could you tell me where I could take money out, please?
No problem! Its just around the corner. Go down the street till the traffic lights and turn left. The ATM is over there. But there is a limit as far as I know. You are not allowed to withdraw more than 300 pounds a day.
Thanks a lot! Its surprising but there is not much choice, Im afraid.
Good luck, guys! See ya!
Thanks a lot!.. (a few minutes later) Look, the ATM is out of order. We shall have to cut back our expenditure on entertainment.
Stop it! You sound like Prime Minister. Call Jill, she might lend us a hundred for tonight and well pay her back tomorrow.
Highly unlikely. She paid our bill yesterday. It came to one hundred dollars and we still owe her our share.
What a bummer! You are right.
* PAYING BILLS AND DEBTS
What are you going to do after school? Going to university or taking a year off?
The former, I hope. Im going to work and pay the bills. My parents will be paying off the mortgage on our flat for another ten years. So Ill have no support from them.
I see. Mine have no mortgage but Ill have to earn some money too. I dont want to take a year off either. How much do you need to pay?
Last week I got the first term bill. Its six hundred and Ill have to payup by the end of the month. I have to cut down some expenses. Last month I ran up my telephone and Internet bills for a hundred bucks. Games, streaming video, sharing files on social media, listening to music, online games, you know So stupid of me! Ive just found a job in a mall but Ill only get paid next week.
I see. Mate, Ive saved two grand. My payment is due on November 30, I could lend you a few hundred for a week or two.
Really?! Oh, great! Thanks, man! Ill settle up with you when I get paid.
Its OK. Were brother-in-arms. Dont worry, take your time.
* HIGHER EDUCATION
I heard that higher education in Germany was free. Is this true?
Yes, it is. But its a little bit tricky. You have to speak German to enter a university.
Its quite fair. My parents studied free of charge but now things have changed completely. We have to pay it annually.
So do we. My parents and I started saving up already. We try to set aside a fixed amount each month so that we have enough by next year.
I see. I bought so many expensive gadgets last year. I tried hard to sell them this summer to add some funds to my account but to no avail. It looks like I have to just write the money off.