English Vocabulary in Use - 46 Personal finances: making ends meet

was broke / skint

had no money left

(I) am rolling in it

have a lot of money; informal

to make ends meet

to survive financially

things are a bit tight

my finances are not good; informal

strapped for cash

needed cash and had very little; informal

bounced

the bank refused to pay it

make out to / payable to

what name shall I put on it?

direct debit

a regular automatic payment, e.g. every month

electronic transfer

movement of money online between two bank accounts

APR

annual percentage rate of interest

expires in / expiry date

is not valid after

credit card fraud

illegal use of someone’s card or account

debit card

card where money is taken directly from your bank account

store card

credit card issued by a store/shop for that store

withdraw / get out

take money from my account

PIN

personal identification number

ATM

automatic teller machine, often just called a ‘cash machine’ or ‘cashpoint’

lump sum

single, large payment

golden handshake

large payment to someone on leaving a job

share portfolios

combination of investments of different kinds

stock market

organisation which controls the buying or selling parts of the ownership of companies

stocks and shares

parts of the ownership of companies which people buy as investments in the hope of making a profit

life savings

money saved over many years

will

official statement of what a person has decided should be done with their money and property after their death

cover

be enough money to pay for it

borrowed

borrow money, e.g. from a bank