773 - Dealing With Debt

Neither a borrower nor a lender be, Shakespeare said. Ah, but he never had a credit card! Learn how to talk about debt in English in this episode.
Slow dialogue: 1:37
Explanations: 3:40
Fast dialogue: 18:03
Kristin: Let’s go shopping!
Ed: Wait a second. What are all these?
Kristin: They’re bills, but they don’t have to be paid yet. Don’t worry. Let’s go! There’s a new pair of shoes with my name on it.
Ed: Hold on a minute. This is a notice saying that you’re behind on your house payments and if you don’t pay soon, your house will go into foreclosure.
Kristin: Oh, they’re just bluffing. I’m only a little behind in my payments. I’ll get to it next week.
Ed: And this is a notice from your bank telling you that your car is being repossessed because you haven’t made a car payment in three months. Is that true?
Kristin: I refuse to look at anything as boring as a bill today.
Ed: And these are from the power company and the phone company. They’re going to cut off your services if you don’t pay now.
Kristin: If I could just charge those payments, I’d be okay.
Ed: Not with these credit cards. You’re maxed out. I’m surprised you haven’t heard from collection agencies already.
Kristin: Maybe I have. They can hound me all they want, but I’m not that behind on my payments. I’m tired of waiting. I’m going shopping with or without you.
Ed: You’re on your own. I refuse to help you toward your financial ruin!
Script by Dr. Lucy Tse