Money and finance: IELTS Speaking Part 3 questions & answers

Opening question

Warm-up: close to home

1. Cause and effect

   Why do you think some people are better at saving money than others?

   2
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   Sample answerBand 8Main causeAnother causeEffect

   1. Main cause→
   2. Another cause→
   3. Effect

   Upbringing plays a huge part, because children who watch their parents budget carefully tend to absorb those habits without even realising it. Temperament matters as well, since some people find it much easier to delay gratification, whereas others feel that money sitting in an account is money wasted. Over a lifetime, those small differences snowball, so two people on the same salary can end up in completely different positions, one with a safety net and the other living from one payday to the next.

   delay gratification

   wait for a reward instead of having it now

   a safety net

   money kept aside for emergencies

   from one payday to the next

   spending everything before the next salary arrives

   84 words · about 37 seconds spoken

Development: society

1. Compare

   How has the way people pay for things changed in recent years?

   3
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   Sample answerBand 8ThenNowWhy it changed

   1. Then→
   2. Now→
   3. Why it changed

   Not so long ago, most people carried a wallet full of notes and coins, and paying by card for something small like a coffee would have felt slightly odd. Today, most transactions where I live are contactless, done by tapping a phone or a watch, and some younger people barely handle cash at all. Partly that's because banks and shops have actively encouraged it, since digital payments are cheaper and safer to process, but convenience has done the rest, as it's simply quicker than counting out change.

   Not so long ago

   quite recently, in the past

   barely handle cash at all

   almost never use notes and coins

   convenience has done the rest

   ease of use completed the change

   87 words · about 38 seconds spoken

2. Opinion

   Do you think money can make people happy?

   4
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   Sample answerBand 8My viewWhyExampleBut

   1. My view→
   2. Why→
   3. Example→
   4. But

   To some extent, yes, because having enough money removes a great deal of anxiety from everyday life. If you can pay your rent and cover an unexpected bill without panicking, you're free to focus on relationships and interests, which are what make people content in the long run. Take someone who moves from a precarious, low-paid job into a stable one, and the difference in their wellbeing is often striking. Beyond a certain point, though, extra wealth seems to add very little, and people who chase it endlessly can end up more stressed than they were before.

   To some extent

   partly, but not completely

   in the long run

   over a long period of time

   Beyond a certain point

   after a particular level has been reached

   97 words · about 42 seconds spoken

3. Opinion

   Should children be taught how to manage money at school?

   5
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   Sample answerBand 8My viewWhyExampleBut

   1. My view→
   2. Why→
   3. Example→
   4. But

   Absolutely, and I'd go so far as to say it's one of the most useful things a school could teach. Plenty of young people leave education able to solve complex equations but with no idea how interest on a loan works, and that gap can be costly. A friend of mine took out a credit card at eighteen, only paid the minimum each month, and spent years clearing a debt that started out quite small. Schools can't do it alone, though, because children pick up most of their attitudes to money at home, so lessons would need to be practical rather than purely theoretical.

   I'd go so far as to say

   I would even make this strong claim

   that gap can be costly

   not knowing this can make you lose money

   practical rather than purely theoretical

   based on real use, not just ideas

   104 words · about 45 seconds spoken

Depth: the abstract and the future

1. Pros and cons

   What are the effects of a society where people spend more than they earn?

   6
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   Sample answerBand 8UpsideDownsideOn balance

   1. Upside→
   2. Downside→
   3. On balance

   In the short term, borrowing to spend can keep an economy buoyant, because shops stay busy, businesses hire staff and people get to enjoy a higher standard of living sooner. The danger is that it rests on debt, and when interest rates rise or jobs are lost, households find they can't keep up with repayments, which can trigger a much wider crisis. So it's a bit like living on borrowed time, and a society is surely far more resilient when people treat credit as an occasional tool rather than a way of life.

   keep an economy buoyant

   keep economic activity strong and lively

   living on borrowed time

   carrying on for now, though trouble is coming

   a way of life

   a normal, permanent habit

   93 words · about 40 seconds spoken

2. The future

   How might the way people use money change in the future?

   7
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   Sample answerBand 8PredictionBecauseBut

   1. Prediction→
   2. Because→
   3. But

   I suspect money will become almost entirely invisible, built into apps and devices so that paying for things happens automatically in the background. Each new step so far has made payment faster and less noticeable, and there's little sign of that trend reversing. The worry is that when you never physically see money leave your hands, it's far easier to overspend, so I wouldn't be surprised if budgeting tools and spending limits became just as common as the payment apps themselves.

   in the background

   happening without people noticing

   there's little sign of

   there is hardly any evidence of

   I wouldn't be surprised if

   I think this is quite likely

   81 words · about 35 seconds spoken

3. What if

   If physical cash disappeared completely, what problems might arise?

   8
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   Sample answerBand 8If soResultWider effect

   1. If so→
   2. Result→
   3. Wider effect

   If cash vanished overnight, the people hit hardest would be those who are already on the margins, such as elderly people who aren't comfortable with technology or anyone without a bank account. They could find themselves unable to buy basics, and even confident users would be stranded during a power cut or a system failure, with no way to pay for anything. More broadly, every purchase would leave a digital trail, which raises serious questions about privacy and about how much control banks and governments ought to have over our everyday lives.

   on the margins

   left out of the main part of society

   leave a digital trail

   create electronic records of what you do

   raises serious questions about

   creates important doubts or concerns about

   92 words · about 40 seconds spoken

4. Pros and cons

   Is it fair that some jobs are paid so much more than others?

   9
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   Sample answerBand 8UpsideDownsideOn balance

   1. Upside→
   2. Downside→
   3. On balance

   There's a reasonable argument for some difference in pay, since jobs that demand years of training or carry enormous responsibility need to reward people for that commitment. What's harder to justify is the sheer scale of the gap, when nurses or care workers, who keep society functioning, earn a fraction of what someone in finance might take home. Ultimately, unequal pay is defensible in principle, but the current gaps often reflect bargaining power rather than how valuable the work actually is.

   harder to justify

   more difficult to defend as reasonable

   the sheer scale of the gap

   how extremely large the difference is

   defensible in principle

   reasonable in theory, whatever happens in practice

   81 words · about 35 seconds spoken