Managing money: talking about your finances

Summary

This 90-minute ESL lesson for A2 learners explores Managing money: talking about your finances through a real article. Across 11 interactive exercises, you'll develop reading comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, practical communication, speaking skills — all built around authentic English content.

What you'll practise:

• 5 key vocabulary items with definitions and usage notes
• Grammar focus: past simple vs. present simple with examples and practice
• Real-world phrases for talking about spending with a friend
• Gap-fill and cloze exercises to test vocabulary in context
• Matching exercise to connect terms with their meanings
• Error correction to sharpen grammar awareness

Lesson activities (11 exercises)

Each exercise builds on the previous one. Work through them in order for the best learning experience.

1. Warm-up — Discussion questions to activate what you already know about the topic.
2. True / False — Test your detailed understanding — decide if each statement matches the source.
3. Vocabulary — Learn key words and expressions from the article, with definitions and usage notes.
4. Fill the gaps — Complete sentences with the correct vocabulary. Drag and drop or type your answers.
5. Grammar — Study past simple vs. present simple — explanation, examples, and key rules.
6. Error correction — Find and fix the mistake in each sentence — a great grammar workout.
7. Practical English — Learn phrases for talking about spending with a friend — ready to use in real conversations.
8. Matching — Connect words, phrases, or concepts to their correct counterparts.
9. Odd one out — Spot the word that doesn't belong in each group.
10. Discussion — Reflect on the topic and share your opinions using the language you've learned.

Vocabulary

This lesson introduces 5 key terms drawn directly from the article:

• save up for (something) — to keep money over time to buy something expensive in the future.
• pay a bill — to give money for a service you have used, like electricity or internet.
• be on a tight budget — to have a limited amount of money to spend.
• cut back on (something) — to reduce the amount of money you spend on something.
• keep track of (your spending) — to record and follow where your money goes.

Grammar

This lesson focuses on past simple vs. present simple.

We use the present simple to talk about habits, routines, and facts that are true now. We use the past simple to talk about finished actions or situations in the past.

Examples from the lesson:

• I save 10% of my salary every month. — Use the present simple for a regular habit or routine.
• Last week, I bought a new phone. — Use the past simple for a single, completed action in the past.
• He usually walks to work, but yesterday he took the bus. — Here we see the contrast: 'walks' is a present habit, and 'took' is a specific past action.

Key rules:

• Use present simple for routines and facts (often with words like 'always', 'every day', 'usually').
• Use past simple for finished past actions (often with words like 'yesterday', 'last year', 'in 2020').
• Remember to use the past form of the verb for the past simple (e.g., 'go' becomes 'went').

Practical English

talking about spending with a friend

Here are some common phrases you can use when you talk with a friend about money, shopping, and your spending habits.

Phrases you'll learn:

• "I'm trying to spend less money." — to state your goal to reduce spending.
• "How do you save money?" — to ask a friend for their tips or ideas.
• "I spend too much on coffee." — to share what you often buy.
• "That's a bit expensive." — to say something costs a lot of money in a polite way.
• "It's a good deal." — to say that the price for something is very good.