IELTS Vocabulary – Money and Finance

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In order to achieve a high score on the IELTS examination, a wide range of vocabulary is essential. You do not have to use complicated words, but being able to use more specific professional terms accurately when discussing finance and money will stand you in good stead when it comes to the IELTS speaking and writing sections. The money and finance vocabulary has been split into different sections and there are some exercises for you to practice using the words in context.

Vocabulary for Giving, Receiving and Using Money
Activity 1 – Financial Vocabulary Exercise
General Vocabulary for Money and Finance
Activity 2 – General Vocabulary Exercise
Money and Finance Collocations
Activity 3 – Financial Collocations Vocabulary Exercise

1. Vocabulary for Giving, Receiving and Using Money

Bill – An amount of money owed for goods or services. For example, a hotel bill or a gas bill
Expenditure – The action of spending money
Expense – The cost required for something
Fee – A payment made for something. Usually services rather than products. For example, legal fees, and hospital fees.
Income – Money received either from work or investments
Making a payment – The process of paying for something
Mortgage – A legal agreement where a creditor lends money to help people buy property. The money is paid back in instalments and with interest.
Passive income – Money received from investments. Typical work is not required for passive income
Make a profit – The financial gain remaining after the cost of producing or selling something is subtracted from income/revenue
Make a loss – When the cost of producing/selling something is more than the cost received for selling it
Revenue – The money/income received by a business or company for the sale of goods or provision or a service
Salary – A regular payment made from an employer to an employee
To allocate / allocation – To assign or distribute money for a specific purpose
To borrow – To take money from a person or company with the intention of paying it back later.
To earn – To engage in a work-related activity that leads to obtaining money.
To invest – Spend money with the expectation of making a profit. For example, investing in the stock market
To lend – To give someone money on the condition it will be returned
To pay back – To repay a loan
To pay off – To pay a debt
To spend – To pay money for goods or services
To save up / set aside – To accumulate money over time to be used for a specific purpose
To waste – To use money carelessly, inefficiently, or extravagantly
To withdraw – To remove money from a bank account
Wages – A regular payment from an employer to an employee

2. Financial Vocabulary Activity 1

Exercise 1

Here is a sample answer to an IELTS speaking question. Read through the answer and then complete the exercise by choosing the correct word to complete the sentences.

Have you bought anything interesting recently?

Yes, last month I bought a new house which was quite a large expenditure. I have taken out a 20-year mortgage so I will be paying it off until I am 62.

Exercise

1. I haven’t bought anything that interesting recently because 6 months ago I had to pay a huge hospital for the surgery on a broken foot.

2. I haven’t necessarily bought anything, but I have some spare cash in the stock market. Eventually, I hope to give up my conventional job and live off my .

3. My business made a last year so completely paid off the on my house. Then with what was leftover, I raised the of my employees by 10%.

Are you good at saving money?

1. I am not that great at saving money because I tend to it on things I don’t really need like new clothes, restaurant food, and coffee.

2. Yes I am quite good at saving money because I a specific amount each week that I can on recreation. Once that has finished I don’t touch the rest of my salary because I am to buy a new apartment.

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3. General Vocabulary for Money and Finance

Afford – Have enough money to pay for something
Bargain – Something that costs less than its normal market value
Broke/ Penniless – To have little or no money
Cost of living – The amount of money it costs to pay life’s expenditures. For example, food, rent, transport etc…
Credit – The ability to obtain goods or services without paying for them immediately.
Deflation – A general reduction in prices within the economy
Discount – A reduction from the usual cost of something
Extravagant – lacking restraint in spending money or something that costs too much money
Frugal – To use money in a simple, economical, or efficient way
Funds/ Funding – The amount of money available for a specific purpose
Inflation – A general increase in prices and drop in the purchasing power of money
Overpriced – Something being sold for more than it should cost
Poor – Lacking the money to live comfortably
Priceless – Something that is so special or unique it is difficult to assign a price
Refund – Money returned for returned goods or unsatisfactory service
Tight/Stingy – To dislike spending money, especially on other people
Wealth distribution – How money is spread between the different parts of society
Wealthy – Having plenty of resources or money
Worthless – Having no real value or use

4. Money and Financial Vocabulary Activity 2

Exercise 2

5. Financial/Money Collocations

Collocations – Here are some important collocations that will help you discuss money and finance on the IELTS writing and speaking sections.

Buy in bulk – To buy something in a large quantity in order to get a discount
Cash injection – An investment into a business, usually made in cash
Clear a debt – Finish paying off a debt
Financial aid – Money borrowed often to pay for school/university / Money sent by one country to another country
Financially dependent – To rely on someone else for money/survival
Financially independent – To not rely on anyone else money/survival
Government funding – Money from the government for a specific purpose. For example, government funding for sports facilities
Increase/Decrease funding – Raise or lower the amount of money available
Manage one’s finances – How a person controls their money
Private funding – Money that comes from individuals rather than banks or financial institutions
Put down a deposit – Make an initial payment to secure the future purchase of something
Run up a debt – To accumulate debt
Tight budget/Shoestring budget – A small amount of money to use for a specific purpose
To increase/boost funding – To make more money available for something
To reduce/cut funding – To make less money available for something

6. Collocations Vocabulary Activity 3

Exercise 3

Choose the correct collocation to complete the sentences

1. It is difficult for students to become before they graduate and get a full time job.

2. The government do not provide enough money to run the local food charities, so they are forced to rely on from members of the public.

3. Since the prices of gas and oil have recently gone up, many families are having to operate on a

4. For certain products which you will always need, it is better to so that you can save a little. Even though the initial outlay is more, more is sometimes less!

5. Many students find it hard not to whilst at university, which they often spend years paying back.

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