Speak English Now through mini-stories with teacher Georgiana

- You know, I couldn't buy gasoline because it's too expensive, 

I sold my car, and now I have enough money to buy it without any problem.

Hi, everybody! I am Georgiana, your English teacher and founder of SpeakEnglishPodcast.com. My mission is to help you speak English fluently.

In this episode:

- I'm going to talk about a current topic: the widespread price increase we are suffering because of the economic situation. 

- In the second part, you will practice grammar with a point of view lesson. Don't miss it!

Remember, you can get the text and much more at SpeakEnglishPodcast.com/podcast 

If there's one thing we can say lately when we go shopping for groceries, it is that prices are going up a lot.

And this wouldn't be a big problem for people if wages were rising in the same way. 

Obviously, people are not happy. They see that, with the same salary, they can buy fewer and fewer products.

This is partly due to the increase in the price of three goods in the energy sector: fuel, electricity, and gas.  

When I say fuel, I mean gasoline and diesel. Usually, trucks use diesel. Fuel prices are about to double. This affects the economy a lot because, as you know, goods have to be transported from one place to another. The transport sector takes care of this.

A large truck can easily have a tank of 1000 liters. That's a little more than 250 gallons. Imagine the cost of all that diesel.

This affects the entire distribution chain and makes products more expensive.

The second key element that is affecting prices is the cost of electricity. I have seen some bills that double and even triple previous years' totals at the consumer level. 

All businesses in all sectors use electricity. If you increase the cost, all economic sectors are affected, from industry to food. For example, imagine you go shopping at the supermarket. You want to buy meat, yogurt, fish;... All these products are refrigerated. To refrigerate, you need electricity, so prices increase. 

Finally, the price of gas has gone up a lot.  At the domestic level, gas is used for cooking and air conditioning. In winter, it is very important because you need to heat the house. But it is also used in industry, and it affects costs in a very significant way.

I have read that some companies, in order to avoid raising prices, they offer less quantity of product for the same price. So, for example, for the same price of 500 grams of meat, now they only give you 400 grams. It is a psychological trick.

Okay, to finish this section, let's look at some expressions you may hear regarding this topic:

- Inflation is the generalized rise within a certain period of products and services. Please do not confuse it with inflammation. If you have inflammation, better go to the nearest hospital. :)

- CPI: This is the consumer price index. Many people confuse it with inflation, but it is not the same. It is a representative selection of products and services and calculates the average increase to measure inflation. The inflation figure can be altered if you change this selection of products.

- Purchasing power: This is the ability to buy things. If prices go up (inflation) with the same amount of money, you have less purchasing power. 

- Tightening the belt: It is a phrase that means that you have to make an effort to reduce expenses.

- Not making ends meet. With the money you earn, you don't have enough for your expenses. So, what you have to do is tighten your belt.

Well, I hope you liked this current topic and the associated vocabulary.

By the way, if you want to know how to speak English using the right techniques, visit SpeakEnglishPodcast.com and subscribe to my mailing list. I will send you my five golden rules to speak English fluently. And it's completely free.

Get the transcript here: SpeakEnglishPodcast.com/podcast