--- title: When money is tight — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «When money is tight», a lesson of the adult life course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: Every family has spells when money is tight: after a big bill, when work hours are cut, or when prices rise faster than pay. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/9-when-money-is-tight/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/) / [Adult life](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/) / When money is tight # When money is tight Lesson 9 of the adult life course of Mova's primary school: 19 sentences, each with its syntax tree and pragmatics. The lessons are written for Mova, and their agreed trees are part of Mova corpus 0.4 (CC BY-SA 4.0). How Mova does on its tests: [the lesson at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/adult-life/9-when-money-is-tight/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/9-when-money-is-tight/0/) — Every family has spells when money is tight: after a big bill, when work hours are cut, or when prices rise faster than pay. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/9-when-money-is-tight/1/) — It does not mean the family is in danger; it means there is little left after the bills. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/9-when-money-is-tight/2/) — Grown-ups then make a budget, cut treats, buy own-brand food, wait for sales and save up instead of borrowing. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/9-when-money-is-tight/3/) — Some families use a food bank for a while, which is help, not shame. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/9-when-money-is-tight/4/) — Hard times are also when scammers strike, with messages that look urgent and real. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/9-when-money-is-tight/5/) — Example: in a kitchen in Auckland, Mum spreads the bills on the table and says "Let's sit down and do a budget." The children help write a list: rent, power, food, bus fares, and what is left. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/9-when-money-is-tight/6/) — Then they choose the cheap fun: a picnic and a library trip instead of the cinema. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/9-when-money-is-tight/7/) — You are not being punished when the answer is "not this month". - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/9-when-money-is-tight/9/) — "Money's tight" means little is left after the bills for extras; it does not mean the family is in danger. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/9-when-money-is-tight/10/) — "We can't afford it" sometimes means there is no money for it, and sometimes that it is not worth the money compared with other things. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/9-when-money-is-tight/11/) — Inflation means prices rise over time, so the same pound buys less; if pay rises more slowly, families are worse off. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/9-when-money-is-tight/12/) — The cost of living is what it costs to pay for a home, food, energy and travel; a crisis is when these rise faster than pay. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/9-when-money-is-tight/13/) — A sale lowers prices; a bargain is only a bargain if you would have bought the thing anyway. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/9-when-money-is-tight/14/) — Own-brand food is often made in a similar way to famous brands but costs less because there is no big advertising. - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/9-when-money-is-tight/16/) — A budget is a plan for money: what comes in, what must go out on bills, and what is left for food, fun and saving. - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/9-when-money-is-tight/17/) — A food bank is a charity that gives free food parcels, usually after a referral from someone like a school or a doctor. - [18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/9-when-money-is-tight/18/) — A text saying a parcel is held and asking for a small payment is a common scam to steal bank details. - [19](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/9-when-money-is-tight/19/) — Anyone offering free game coins for your login is a scammer trying to steal the account or a parent's card details. - [20](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/9-when-money-is-tight/20/) — Saving up is slower than borrowing but cheaper, because no interest is paid. - ← previous: [Borrowing and debt](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/8-borrowing-and-debt/) - next →: [Moving house and renting a home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/10-moving-house-and-renting-a-home/) - ↑ back to [Adult life](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/)