Day 96 of 129

Day 96: Her Savings Book and an ETF

At the digital help desk of a community centre in Osnabrück, Frederik (A), a young volunteer, has just sorted out the phone of Hannelore Brüggemann (B), an older woman, when she takes out her savings book.

How to study this lesson 3 steps
  1. Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
  2. Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense. Point at (or tap) a German word to see what it means.
  3. Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native German, for example from the Resources page. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.

Dialogue

Audio recordings are on the way. For now, each lesson is the dialogue with its English translation.

Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day · point at a word to see its meaning

  1. A

    Das Update ist drauf, Frau Brüggemann. Gibt es noch etwas, wobei ich Ihnen helfen kann?

    The update's installed, Mrs Brüggemann. Is there anything else I can help you with?

  2. B

    Mein Neffe liegt mir ständig in den Ohren, ich solle mein Sparbuch auflösen und alles in so einen ETF stecken.

    My nephew keeps going on at me to close my savings book and put the lot into one of those ETFs.

  3. A

    Angesichts der mickrigen Zinsen verstehe ich ihn: Nach Abzug der Inflation wird Ihr Erspartes da jedes Jahr weniger wert.

    Given the paltry interest, I can see his point: once you take inflation off, your savings in there are worth less every year.

  4. B

    Aber bei so einem ETF ist doch alles weg, wenn die Börse abstürzt. Das hat man ja 2008 gesehen.

    But with one of those ETFs everything's gone if the stock market crashes. We saw that in 2008.

  5. A

    Nicht alles, aber hinsichtlich des Risikos will ich ehrlich sein: In einem schlechten Jahr kann schon mal ein Drittel weg sein.

    Not everything, but I'll be honest with you about the risk: in a bad year, you can easily lose a third.

  6. B

    Und bis das wieder da ist? Junger Mann, ich bin einundachtzig, ich kaufe nicht mal mehr grüne Bananen.

    And until it comes back? Young man, I'm eighty-one, I don't even buy green bananas any more.

  7. A

    Tja, und genau da sind wir bei dem, wozu ich Sie nicht beraten darf. Gehen Sie zur Verbraucherzentrale, die will Ihnen wenigstens nichts verkaufen.

    Well, that's exactly where we get to what I'm not allowed to advise you on. Go to the consumer advice centre: at least they won't try to sell you anything.

  8. B

    Also gut, Verbraucherzentrale. Aber den Termin buchen Sie mir online, dafür sitzen Sie ja schließlich hier.

    All right, the consumer advice centre. But you can book me the appointment online, that's what you're here for, after all.

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