How much is your spouse worth

Page 1 of 6 Alice Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm Alice… Neil … and I'm Neil. Hello. Alice Hello, Neil. Now tell me, do you usually go dutch when you take someone out to dinner? Neil Now go dutch means to share the cost of something, for example a meal in a restaurant. Well Alice, no, I usually expect my date to pay actually. Alice I hope you’re joking, Neil. But I wouldn’t be surprised! Personally, I think it’s a nice gesture to offer to pay for the meal when you’re on a date. Neil Yeah. But it can depend on the situation – some people might be very offended if you offered to pay for everything! Alice Well yes, true. Clearly you’re not going to offend those people, Neil, though are you? And I won’t be going to dinner with you any time soon. Neil Well, I didn't ask so calm down, Alice! Actually, money matters can cause relationship problems in couples – and that’s the subject of the show. Here’s today’s quiz question based on a UK survey. Ready, Alice? Alice I am indeed. Neil 6 Minute English © British Broadcasting Corporation 2015 bbclearningenglish.com Page 2 of 6 What percentage of married couples don’t know exactly what their spouse earns? Is it: a) 4%? b) 14%? Or c) 44% Alice Well, gosh! I think b) 14%. Yes, that sounds about right to me. Neil Well, we'll find out if you're right or wrong later on. Now, it seems important that couples are honest about their finances because it can have an impact on their future financial options together. Alice Yes, that’s right. If you’re buying a house together and then find out later that your spouse – your husband or wife – is thousands of pounds in debt, then the chances are you won’t be able to get a mortgage. To be in debt, by the way, means to owe money to someone. Neil Good point. A mortgage is where a bank lends you money to buy a house. Let’s listen now to what Arabella Russell, a relationship therapist, has to say about this. INSERT Arabella Russell, relationship therapist The fact of the matter is it’s very difficult – it can be very difficult – to talk about money. Often when we talk about money, it’s emotions very close to us – there’s guilt, there’s shame. What have we done in the past? To start those conversations is complicated. Money can be about how we value ourselves, how we feel valued. It’s not just a simple case of talking about hard cash. Neil Arabella talks about ‘hard cash’. Now what does that mean? Alice Well, we say hard cash when we talk about physical money – the coins and banknotes – as opposed to other types of payment. Neil And why do we find it so difficult to talk about cash, Alice? Alice Well, because we get emotional about it! Arabella talks about feelings of guilt and shame. And for many of us, money isn’t simply money – it can be about how we value ourselves or feel valued. 6 Minute English © British Broadcasting Corporation 2015 bbclearningenglish.com Page 3 of 6 Neil Right – so if I were to buy you a cheap engagement ring you would feel undervalued.