| One of the social problems in my country is about the lottery. Starting this year, maybe in summer, I'm not sure, Lotto lottery tickets started to be sold. That was a sensational event. The price is a little higher than others, but the winner of Lotto will get lots and lots of money. In addition, if there is no winner each week, the money is rolled over to the next week. Because of this fact, a lot of people bought Lotto tickets. Also they made a Lotto club which buys some tickets after gathering the money each week. If the winner is in their group, they'll divide the prize. The worst problem is that some people get many tickets with their salary. They have only a dream about winning the Lotto. How can their family live without their salary? So some people blame the Lotto. There are many articles about this problem. The Lottery is not good but sometimes needed. There is a problem because of people who cannot control themselves.--Eun Suk |
| Most people always think money is the most important thing in their life. They think they can't live without money. Although money is important to others, I don't think so. I agree money is useful, but I think there is something more important. For example, I think friendship, relatives, parents, and healthy love is more important than money. If you have good health, you will earn lots of money. By the way, although you may have plans for money, you wouldn't be able to buy health. If you had much money but there wouldn't be any friends or relatives to share your happiness, I think it would be sad.--Ricky |
| In my native country the doctors, teachers, and engineers were the lowest paid category of employees, and speaking about money was impolite. In the USA money is the most important thing in our life. I like to buy the things that are necessary for me or my family if the price is reasonable to me. In my country, like in the USA, tipping is an ordinary practice. It's a pity, but I never found a lot of money on the street except for 1 or 5 pennies. In my country if I saw an old woman or man who was begging on the street, I always gave them something, but on the streets of San Francisco the homeless are usually drunks or drug addicts and I never give them anything. If I found a lot of money on the street, I'd give it to my daughter and grandchildren for their problems that are more important than my own.--Lilya |
| The economic position of a family dictates what kinds of things they can buy and where they go for restaurants. Rich families go in special shops. My wife and I go in shops where all the things are not in style at this time and the prices aren't expensive. We go to the stores that have sales, for example, Goodwill, Mervyn's, and Ross. We bought more things in Ross. I want to buy a car and I will save money. The car costs three to four thousand. At this time I am retired and my money is very small. I have a checking account. I can't use it, because my account in the bank is very small. Some day I will be rich. I play super lotto two times a week. I go to casinos in Tahoe and Reno. If I had $50,000, I'd buy a car. I'd go to Europe, Paris, Rome and South America. For me, it is more important to love each other than to have money.--Iosif |
| Actually, I love to look for bargains, but not all purchases. I like to look for clothing which is on sale. Although I like to look for bargains, I never check the prices at different stores because it makes me exhausted. Some of my friends like to go window-shopping, and they like to discuss the style, the price, everything they see. But I hate window-shopping. I think it is meaningless. It just makes me bored.--Kay |
| I always liked to dress stylishly, but not with expensive things. We have never lived in a grand style. Some of my clothing I knitted by myself and brought to San Francisco. I liked going window-shopping and gazing at different elegant clothing, decorations, and jewelry. If I have leisure time and am in good shape I like going window-shopping downtown or on Union Street. Sometimes we (my close friend and I) allow ourselves to drink a cup of coffee in a French coffee shop on Union Street. There are a lot of nice boutiques, jewelry stores and so on. But in reality, I like buying different clothing (especially blouses and skirts) in Goodwill on Fillmore, in Ross, and sometimes in Loehmann's (on sale) downtown. I usually check the prices at different stores before I decide to buy something. We live modestly. We have a checking account with City Bank. My husband uses an ATM card, but I prefer paying cash because I'm very absent-minded and afraid of losing my card. In spring we were in Las Vegas for two days. My husband is an excited "gambler" and he won $30 and we went to a Venetian restaurant. If someone gave me $50,000, I'd buy a new car and different gifts for our grandsons and friends.--Berta |
| In my native country, Japan, we don't have a tipping habit. When I go to a restaurant and eat something, I pay the cost of the meal and tax (5%) but I don't leave a tip. We always pay money at the cash register near the exit in Japan. I worry about somebody taking money on a table when I leave money on a table here. Do such incidents happen in the United States?--Mizuho |
| When I go shopping, I will look for bargains. I check the prices at different stores before I decide to buy something. If something is very expensive, I don't buy it, and if something is on special, I'll try to buy some if the cost isn't over $5. I like to buy anything second-hand. My idea is for a car. I don't like window-shopping. In my country we never have tipping. The service is part of the job. I have a checking account because it is a safe way to pay money. I have found $10 on the street. I never give money to the homeless because they have a lot of ways to find a job. I think saving some money is more important so I can buy a house.--Huan Ping |
| I like shopping. I go once in a while. I don't check the prices too much. If I have enough money I buy whatever I want. I save money for occasions to buy special gifts for my husband. I don't like to buy or sell second-hand. I give my used clothes to my sisters. I have four. I have a checking account but I don't use it because I use cash. I'll try to get a credit card. I need it if I want to buy something very important to me. Once a year I go to Las Vegas for fun and a litle gambling. I win one time, I lose another time. If somebody gave me $50,000 I'd try to buy a house or buy a business. In my opinion love is more important. In my country, we give tips in restaurants but not in coffee shops.--Sania |
| Money is an interesting topic to talk about. When you don't have money, you can't do anything that you like. But in America, if you don't have money but you have a job, you can get many credit cards. And also if you have good credit, the credit union will approve you. When you have a credit card it is very convenient to buy things, but you have to be on time when you pay the money to the credit card companies. If you don't do that they will tell about your credit record to the credit union. Then you will have bad credit. One more thing is when you have bad credit, you can't apply for a credit card again because they won't grant your request. If you want to buy a new car or a house, there will be a problem. Your credit record also is kept five to seven years. When I go shopping, if I want to buy some expensive things like a big electrical appliance (TV, refrigerator) or furniture, I will check the prices at different stores before I decide to buy it. Usually I'd like to wait for them to be on sale because here the stores will have big sales especially on holidays. That can be the best way to save some money. As for food, I like to shop at the convenient supermarket that is near my home. They are also not so expensive. When I want some household things I like to go to Cosco and Target. If I have free time I like to go window-shopping. I prefer to go to Macy's.--Rebecca |
| I like shopping if I have enough money. Before I buy something special or expensive, I like looking around and checking prices. Usually I save my school money and later I buy some presents for my family and friends. Also I like to go to a restaurant and try different kinds of food. We can afford to eat at the restaurant on the weekend, because the prices are not high and there is a very high quality of food and service.--Julia |
| In my country, China, we don't have tipping and tax, but tipping is very important in America. When we go to a restaurant to eat, we give a 15% tip. In some very expensive places with very nice service we give a 20% tip. I like to gamble very much. We went to Las Vegas and Reno this year. We watched the show and went shopping. I bought some clothes in Las Vegas. We had a nice dinner. Of course we gambled. We usually lose money but we think it is worth it because we had fun and spent a wonderful time. We enjoy it very much. If someone gave me $50,000, I would buy more stock I didn't make any money from stock because the stock market was very bad in 2000. I lost lots of money, but I still like it very much. Stock trading is very exciting. I feel fascinated.--Cindy |
| Money is very important to me. If someone gave me $50,000, it would be a good blessing for me as a kidney transplant recipient. I'd keep it in the bank. First, I don't have a job. I couldn't work at this time because recently I had a kidney transplant. This money would really help me a lot for my medication. I'm taking different kinds of medication and it's too expensive for me. It is very difficult for me because I'll be taking this medication for the rest of my life. It would be very helpful for me if someone gave me some money. How lucky I would be. What I can say is money is very important for me. If there's no money for me I couldn't live because the medication that I'vve been taking is for my kidney rejection. I need this for my whole life.--Maribeth |
| When we go to the restaurant in San Francisco to eat some food or go to the barber shop to have a haircut, while we pay the bill we also give a tip, usually about 10-15%, sometimes maybe more. But in my native country, before 1990, if you gave a tip the waiter or waitress didn't like it because they thought you insulted them, like giving money to the homeless. But recently, all has changed. The waiter or waitress is very interested in tips because it is part of their wages. I thought giving tips encourages good service. If the restarant service was very bad you could give just a very little tip. If it is good service, you would like to give more and more.--Tony |
| When I go shopping, sometimes I look for bargains at different stores before I decide to buy something, and I try to buy the cheap one. Tipping in San Francisco and in my country are completely different. In my country 15 years ago people used to give tips, but nowadays they don't do it any more. Personally, my family and I always give tips when we go to a restaurant, or sometimes we give money when we see homeless people.--Cristina |
| Unfortunately, money plays a very important part in people's lives. People are thinking a lot about how to make money and less about how to make our earth cleaner, more peaceful and safer. I believe the Kingdom of God will be in our planet in the future. There will be no money at all and people will enjoy themselves and love each other. But now I have to earn money and then spend it for living expenses. I like nice goods and delicious food. I can't afford to buy expensive things, so I like to buy good-looking ones, but usually look for bargains. There is one interesting fact in my life: money avoids me. I have never found any money on the street, just pennies, and I've never won in a game of chance, but God has done enougth for me. I am interested in a lot of things and I have what I need.--Irina |
| I like to check the prices at different stores before I buy. I've never saved money to buy something. I'm a money spender. I don't like to buy second-hand things. I've never found money on the street. Sometimes I give money to homeless people. That makes me feel good and I pray to God, "Please God, just keep me healthy to work for a little money to survive and help my relatives in my country who need money for emergencies."--Roza |