ESL Podcast 268 - Get-Rich-Quick Schemes

infomercial - a very long commercial (TV advertisement) that is made to look like a television program instead of a commercial

Have you seen the infomercial for a knife that can cut through metal cans?

scam - a plan for making money by cheating and lying to other people

There are many Internet scams that use professional-looking emails to try to get people to share their bank account numbers.

to fall for (something) - to be tricked or fooled into doing something or believing something that isn't true

I can't believe I fell for it when that man asked me for money to buy a bus ticket to get home. I'm sure now that he was lying.

get-rich-quick scheme - a dishonest way to make a lot of money very quickly; a plan or system to make a lot of money very quickly

Jacky is always telling other people to avoid get-rich-quick schemes after losing his savings on one a few years ago.

capital - a large amount of money that is used to invest in a project, business, or something else, either to get it started or to make it grow

Reese wants to start a new business but he needs $23,000 in capital first.

a cut - a portion; a part; a percentage

Jaime gets a 15% cut of the sales every time he finds a new customer for his uncle's business.

profit - money that is made in a business; the money that is left for a business or individual after all the expenses (costs) have been paid

Corina's bakery didn't make a profit until the third year of the business.

pyramid scheme - an impossible business where each person thinks that he or she will make only one payment and then receive payments from many other people, but in reality this cannot work because it needs an infinite (no maximum) number of participants

If someone offers you a way to make money that seems too good to be true, it's probably a pyramid scheme.

to lose (one's) shirt - to lose everything; to lose all of one's money and the things that one owns

Cesar lost his shirt while playing cards in Las Vegas and now he's in debt.

fraud - the act of cheating or lying to people to get their money

The woman said that she could see our future, but it was a fraud. She didn't know anything except how to get our money.

testimonial - what customers and other people say to recommend a product or service

Many companies put testimonials on their websites to try to get new customers to buy a product.

to strike it rich - to be very successful with something and make a lot of money

Many men in the 1800s struck it rich by finding gold in Oregon and California.

sucker - a person who is easily tricked or fooled by another person's bad ideas or actions

Shane felt like a sucker when he finally realized that his roommate had been stealing money from him.

installment - a partial payment; an amount of money that is paid every month to eventually pay the entire cost of something expensive

This store lets you pay in monthly installments for new furniture, instead of paying everything at once.

step-by-step - describing each phase or activity for doing something, one after the other

If your computer isn't working, call the software company to get step-by-step instructions on how to fix the problem.

to waste - to use money, time, or something else in a bad or unnecessary way; to use more of something than is needed

Rob and Emily wasted more than $2,000 buying exercise equipment that they never use.

prerogative - a person's right to do something or to decide something

If you want to start working right after high school, that's your prerogative, but I think it's a better idea to go to college first.

millionaire - a person who has at least $1,000,000

Aaron is saving all his money because he wants to be a millionaire before he is 40 years old.