Daily English 424 - Being in Debt

Complete Lesson

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Dialogue/Story

Slow Speed begins at: 1:25
Explanation begins at: 4:18
Normal Speed begins at: 15:50

Chang: I don’t mean to be nosey, but all of those bills are red or pink. Are you behind on all of those bills?

Ilya: I am, but it’s no big deal. I can catch up on them next month.

Chang: You know that being late on bills is bad for your credit score, right? You also have to pay exorbitant interest if you have credit card debt.

Ilya: Don’t worry about it. Everything will be fine.

Chang: I’m only speaking from experience. When I first started working, I had a loan that I defaulted on and I ran up my credit cards. I had to borrow money from my family and friends to pay my bills. I was so desperate at one point, I even went to see a loan shark.

Ilya: Did he lend you money?

Chang: I decided against borrowing money from him after talking to my brother about it. With his help, I found a good credit counselor and got my finances under control. My two main creditors agreed to defer payment for a couple of months, but not before I sold my car and most of what I owned to raise money.

Ilya: Maybe I can do that.

Chang: Do what?

Ilya: Work with a credit counselor so I don’t have to pay my bills.

Chang: You’ve got it all wrong. It took me years to pay off those bills. I just didn’t have debt collectors calling me at all hours of the day, that’s all. A little advice: A little restraint now will save you a lot of pain.

Ilya: Okay, okay. I got the message. Remind me never to pay my bills in front of you again!

Category: Money