•buck 

(noun): dollar
– Could you load me a buck or two until tomorrow?
•be strapped for cash (idiom): have no money available
– He has really been strapped for cash because he lost his job two weeks ago.
•pinch pennies (idiom): be careful with money
– That young couple had to pinch pennies so they could live.
•in the hole (idiom): in debt
– My brother has charged so many purchases to his credit cards that he’s in the hole.
•make ends meet (idiom): make enough money to live
– When I was a student, I had to work three part-time jobs to make ends meet.
•land (verb): find
– I need to land a good job where I can earn a lot of money.
•be loaded (adjective): having a lot of money
– Don’t let him borrow money off you because, in reality, he’s loaded. His rich parents give him
$2,500 in spending money a month!
•budget (noun): a financial plan of expenses and income
– You should create a budget of your expenses.
•keep track of (idiom): keep a record of
– Any business should keep track of its earnings.
•run out (phrasal verb): use up or exhaust
– If you don’t keep a budget, you might run out of money before your next paycheck.
•utilities (noun): services provided by gas, power, and water companies
– The rent for this apartment includes the cost of utilities.
•pay through the nose (idiom): pay an excessive amount of money
– Car insurance is so expensive that you have to pay through the nose to get any type of coverage
these days.
•knack (noun): a special way or ability of doing something
– My mother has a real knack for saving money on her low salary.
•blow (verb): spend thoughtlessly or wastefully; throw away
– People sometimes blow money on things that have no lasting value.
•commute (verb): travel back and forth between work and home
– I commute by bus everyday.
•curb (verb): lessen or reduce
– Unless you curb your spending, you’re going to run out of money before the week is over.
 Vocabulary and Sample Sentences
• blab (verb): talk too much about unimportant things, some of which might be private matters 
– She blabbed to her friends all about the accident and how it was all my fault. How embarrassing.
• jump to conclusions (idiom): form an opinion without all the facts and evidence 
– Hey, don’t jump to conclusions. The accident might not have been her fault.
• pull into (phrasal verb): move into a spot like a parking space or driveway 
– When you arrive, just pull your car into the garage.
• ruin (verb): spoil or destroy something completely
– You’re going to ruin your car if you drive it like that.
• be in a jam (idiom): be in a difficult situation
– I’m in a real jam because I have a date tonight, but my car broke down this afternoon? What am I
going to do?
• tough (adjective): difficult or unfortunate
– Not having a car right now must be really tough. How are you going to get to work without one?
• awesome (adjective): very good, impressive
– That’s awesome that your parents are letting you use their car for the weekend.
• count on (phrasal verb): depend on
– I can always count on my kids to drive safely. Otherwise, I wouldn’t let them use my car.
• wreck (verb): completely destroy or ruin
– My father wrecked the family car last night, but fortunately, he wasn’t hurt.

•sputter (verb): make consecutive explosive noises 

– My car tends to sputter a lot in cold weather when I start it up.
•carburetor (noun): part of the engine that mixes air with gasoline vapor before combustion 
– The carburetor needs to be fixed or replaced.
•alternator (noun): a generator that produces electrical current 
– There must be a problem with the alternator in my old truck.
•outrageous (adjective): very expensive 
– The cost of repairing the old car would have been outrageous, so that I decided to buy a new one
instead.
•out-of-the-way (adjective): remote or far from populated areas 
– We took a trip to an out-of-the-way ghost town during our vacation.
•cost an arm and a leg (idiom): be very expensive, outrageous 
– It cost me an arm and a leg to fix the damage to my sports car.
•speak up (phrasal verb): speak without fear or hesitation 
– People need to speak up against bullying when they see it happen.
•bully (verb): treat someone badly in action or words 
– Why do you always bully Brandon? He hasn’t done anything to you.
•tease (verb): make fun of 
– Some of the kids in my class are always teasing my sister, and I can’t get them to stop.
•nasty (adjective): terrible 
– I can’t believe kids post such nasty messages on Facebook.
•principal (noun): manager or director of a school 
– The principal spoke to all of the kids at school about the problems of cyberbullying.
•anxious (adjective): nervous 
– Brittany feels very anxious about going to school these days.
•improve (verb): make better 
– If you want to improve the environment for kids at school, you have to speak out about the
problems of bullying.
•groin (noun): the top of your inner thigh where your legs come together, often a man’s private
area 
– I got kicked in the groin accidentally during the soccer game, and I couldn’t move for a few
minutes.
•aggressive (adjective): showing feelings of anger and being ready to fight 
– Richards sometimes gets really upset at little things and becomes somewhat aggressive.
•let go of something (verb): stop holding on to a feeling or idea 
– Amber apologized to her boyfriend about forgetting his birthday, but he won’t let it go. He’s been
angry for two weeks.
•press charges (verb): take legal action against someone 
– Brandon’s ex-girlfriend smashed his car window, and now he is going to press charges against her.
•frightened (adjective): afraid or scared 
– Maria felt very frightened when her boyfriend demanded that she not hang out with her friends
after school.
•backlash (noun): a strong reaction to something 
– Michael knew his old girlfriend would be angry at him when they broke up, but when she stole his
cell phone and posted terrible messages on Facebook, he said he never expected such a
negative backlash like that.
•inflict (verb): cause someone to feel something harmful or painful 
– Why do you want to inflict such terrible emotional pain on your old girlfriend? You were using
drugs, and she couldn’t stand your abuse, so I don’t blame her for leaving you.
•keep someone updated (verb): give or provide the latest information on something 
– I’m worried that Sarah’s boyfriend is selling drugs, and Sarah is feeling pressure to do it, too. I’m
going to talk to her tonight. I’ll keep you updated if I find out anything.
•be in hot water (idiom): be in serious trouble 
– I’ll be in hot water if I don’t buy my wife flowers for Valentines Day.
•vicious (adjective): something causing great physical or emotional pain through aggressive actions
or behavior, dangerous 
– That watch dog is really vicious. It will bite you if you get too close.
•peel out (phrasal verb): to accelerate a vehicle very quickly 
– The man peeled out of the parking lot and nearly ran into our car.
•maniac (noun): a person who acts in a wild or uncontrollable way 
– That guy is a maniac. He was driving out of control and almost hit us.
•run off (phrasal verb): to force or drive off 
– He fell asleep at the wheel, and the car ran off the road.
•hide (verb): to prevent from being seen or discovered 
– Last night, I just wanted to hide under the table when I spilt my drink on my date.
•wacky (adjective): crazy, irrational, or silly 
– Don’t listen to his wacky ideas. They’ll only get you in hot water.
•blunt (adjective): direct 
– Ashley is always very blunt about her feelings towards other people.
•fatso (noun): fat or heavy (not polite) 
– Kids at school always used to call me fatso. It was a hard time in my life.
•scam (verb; also noun): to cheat or deceive someone 
– A few dishonest companies scam people into buying things they don’t need.
•portion (noun): amount of food, serving 
– I sometimes overeat at this restaurant because their portions are very generous.
•load up (verb): fill 
– I know this is an all-you-can-eat restaurant, but you don’t have to load up on all those fatty foods.
•cut out (verb): stop or remove 
– If you want to really lose weight, you need to cut out the cakes and cookies after every meal.
•buddy (noun): close friend 
– You and your buddy drink way too much soda with your meals.
•tough (adjective): difficult 
– It’s sometimes tough not to overeat during the holidays.
•cut back on something (verb): reduce the amount of something 
– You should cut back on soda and drink water instead.

•mishaps (noun): accidents
– There were a few unfortunate mishaps while we were on vacation.
•horsing around (phrasal verb): playing around or wasting time
– Hey! Stop horsing around and get to work.
•to pull something over someone’s eyes (idiom): to deceive or hide the truth
– Don’t even try pulling something over my eyes. I’ll be watching you very carefully.
•be in hot water (idiom): be in bad trouble
– Oh no, you broke the window! You’re going to be in hot water when mom gets back from the
store.
•digging yourself out of something (idiom): trying to explain or justify the causes of a situation
– There’s no way you’re going to be able to dig yourself out of this one. It was your fault, so just
admit it.