Describe an interesting discussion you had with someone about how you spend your money.
You should say:
- who you had the discussion with
- why you discussed this topic
- what the result of the discussion was
and explain why this discussion was interesting for you.
[You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you’re going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.]
Model Answer 1:
I don’t normally like to discuss my private matters with anybody unless, of course, I have a very valid reason to do so. But, the other day, I was casually doing exactly that with one of my senior cousins, who made the discussion rather interesting.
Of course, I didn’t exactly want to get drawn into this sort of discussion, but when my cousin asked me about my future plan or how I was spending and managing my money, I thought that there was no harm in discussing the subject. In fact, I decided to have that discussion, mainly because I wasn’t really doing that well financially even though I was earning a reasonably good amount of money from my job. And, I told that to my cousin, he told me that earning enough money wasn’t just enough to have a secured financial future unless we were using the money in creating tangible assets.
In fact, he gave me an account of how he successfully turned around his failing business about a few years ago by wisely investing his little savings. So, again, according to him, earning enough money wasn’t just enough as one would also need to find a way to invest it properly with a long term plan by factoring out the future inflation. Anyway, the discussion was not only getting more and more interesting but also getting more and complicated. Finally, the discussion ended with a piece of advice from my cousin that we should have never spent more money than we would earn.
Anyway, the discussion was really fascinating for me because it taught me a few effective tricks not only to save money but also to invest them wisely at the right time. Besides, the conversation also taught me how to create and maintain a link with financially successful people who could always teach us a thing or two on how to become a successful entrepreneur even when one doesn’t have any money at all. Finally, the discussion was also interesting because it taught me how to diversify my skills and money earning abilities.
Sample Answer 2:
I always wanted to spend my money after my will but the recent discussion about spending money had changed my former concept. I had a fruitful discussion with Mr Robert, a senior professor at my college in Florida. He teaches economics at the graduate level and a man of letters. He believed that people should have money in the head, not in the heart. Money is only a tool. But it will not make the things done until someone uses it correctly. Overall, it was a pleasant discussion with him. This is a smart cue card task for me. I will answer the other questions gladly.
Mr Robert was taking a class about spending and saving money. In fact, he owned some ideologies. He never spent money before having that. So, he was talking to the class about money management. After the class, I went to meet him and he explained everything to me. I wanted to justify the way I was spending money for myself. Mr Robert explained the issues one after another and I was simply impressed with the examples.
After lots of arguments, I admitted that I made mistakes in money management. He advised me to never to lose money. Actually, I used to spend unnecessarily. And I told him the matters to get some good suggestions. In the end, I got a different insight. I decided to cut my coat according to my clothes. And also pledged to be careful in future about money management.
The discussion attracted me for its nature. I was unfamiliar with the ways of savings. And after the detail estimation, it was evident that I was in the wrong direction. Accordingly, I started following his advice and find everything right with me. Interestingly, I did the opposite things that Mr Robert suggested me this time.
More Ideas to talk about this Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card topic:
Topic: Describe an interesting discussion you had about how you spend your money.
1. I had an interesting discussion with Ms Sofia. I am an investor here in Yorkshire and she is my financial advisor. I needed some suggestion on planning for an investment at a foreign company. The result of the discussion was effective for me. She asked me to record my previous expenses and then calculate the amount I have for the investment. I felt interested in her advice and it proved effective for me.
2. Spending money is hard if you do not have a budget. So, I have a conversation about it with a friend named Julius. He is a lawyer in Spain and works for the government too. I discussed with him for a few reasons. He gave me some valuable suggestions about the necessity of the budget. I was not aware of them before. The discussion was interesting as it changed my ideas and beliefs about spending money. In fact, I got some new insights.
3. Saving money is a good habit and I got some ideas about it. I had a small discussion with Maria about saving money and spending it. Actually, I needed to know about the exact process to spend money. Finally, I got the ideas to save them and spend them later. It was an interesting discussion because she came up with the ideas to save money first before spending them. I just followed her advice and it proved beneficial to me.
4. While spending money, I was unable to set my priorities. So, I used to spend unnecessarily. My wife Samantha had helped me greatly in this case. I just wanted to set my priorities about spending money on things I need. Later, she came up with some innovative ideas that I was unfamiliar with before the discussion. Thereby, it was an effective discussion with her and we laughed a lot about the spending issues. It was interesting indeed.
5. Before the discussion with Mr Watson, I used to spend a lot of things regardless of my necessity. So, I was in debt. And needed some useful tips for me. He gave me some instructions on how to cut costs and save money. It was greatly useful to me. the discussion was interesting for some reasons. I pointed out some specific issues that he made me focus on.
6. Recently I had an effective discussion with my elder sister, Rosy. She advised me about spending money on different issues. In fact, I fell in some bank debts for using my credit cards. So, I needed some effective solutions to this problem. She advised me to reduce the use of credit cards and spend in cash. Interestingly, my expenses were reduced to a remarkable extent. The conversation was interesting and she explained how credit cards allure us to spend more.
Similar other cue card topics that you should be able to answer with your preparation for this cue card topic:
1. Describe an interesting conversation with someone you did not know before.
2. Describe an interesting discussion you had with one of your friends.
3. Describe something you learn from a conversation you had with someone.