Shadowing Practice: Things I refuse to upgrade even though I can afford to! - Learn English Speaking with Video
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I think we're conditioned to believe that as we make more money, our lifestyle should upgrade with it too.
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So we splurge a bit more on our trips, the clothes, the weekends, and before we know it,
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we need to keep making more just to maintain the life that we've upgraded into.
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I grew up in a household where the art was in the savings.
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The art is in the spending too, but that's for another video.
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Getting a good deal was almost more exciting than buying the thing itself.
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We didn't replace something just because we could afford to, but we replaced it when the old one had finally given up on us.
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And I think that mindset has protected me from lifestyle inflation.
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Even when I started making more money, I never felt like everything else in my life had to become more expensive too.
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I'm not saying that I never upgrade anything, but for me an upgrade has to genuinely make my life better.
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Not just give me something newer.
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Today I wanted to share with you the things
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that I refuse to upgrade even though I could probably afford to
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and maybe I can convince you that upgrades are not always necessary.
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I have a Samsung phone and I've had this for about five years now.
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There's actually a little bit of a scratch on the front camera and it makes the photos a little bit blurry.
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But the reason why I don't upgrade my phone is because I can't believe how expensive phones are nowadays.
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And I know this thing is like not just a phone and it's an all-in-one device, but I still cannot justify paying for that price.
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Honestly, I think I would be very anxious about dropping it or losing it somewhere because it is so expensive.
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With technology, I'm always going to stick with one rule that has probably saved me so much money.
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If it still does what it needs to do, I'm going to keep it.
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Or at least try to remedy it with parts instead of
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buying the whole new thing like buying a monitor from my ancient laptop
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and fingers crossed that they last as long as they can.
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I recently went on Reformation.
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It is a clothing website that I used to shop from all the time.
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And I guess I haven't been on there in a very long time because I was genuinely shocked at the prices.
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I think it was like $300 for a dress or $100 for a t-shirt and it wasn't even made with good materials.
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When I was in my 20s, I actually cared about the brand and the lifestyle that the brand was trying to sell us.
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But now, I really would not pay extra for that.
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I just care about the actual item.
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If we're in the position to upgrade the pieces that we buy, I think it's definitely worth upgrading in pieces, better materials, and craftsmanship.
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But not just because it is more expensive designer or brand.
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Some of the best quality pieces in my closet are secondhand for a fraction of the cost.
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And the true upgrade has been how I feel in my quality pieces.
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We bought this house about a year and a half ago already.
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And we bought it with the furniture from the previous owners.
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Now, is it completely my style?
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Probably not.
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But we were just grateful that they were giving us an amazing deal.
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And it really helped us to get started with our life here in Portugal.
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And I don't know about you guys, but I feel like my style is constantly changing.
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So I can't really imagine spending a fortune on like furniture
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and decorations and stuff and keep changing it as my style evolves.
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I actually think that the best splurges are the small things like bed sheets and pillows and towels,
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things you can touch and use every single day because you're buying them for your own experience.
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I thought that I would get fussier the older I got about the logistics of traveling.
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Like how I got there, where I stay, and so on.
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But I feel like it's the opposite and I feel like I've gotten more chill.
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We've done so many road trips with our dogs and there's been plenty of nights where we just sleep in the car.
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And actually one of my favorite things to do when I'm traveling is just to go explore the city and walk around, pop into a local market.
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And that really does not cost that much.
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I realized that if I can cut back on the logistics of traveling, like baggage fees and seat upgrades, resort fees and hotel breakfast,
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I can travel more often and focus on the actual experience of discovering your places.
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I think the biggest illusion of our modern world is that if we pay for convenience, then we're going to have more time to do whatever we want to do.
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And of course there are seasons when paying for convenience is absolutely worth it.
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And it actually comes to mind my friend who pays for a gym membership where they offer babysitting.
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And I can imagine how much that would be worth it because it just gives her a little bit of a breather.
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But for me, as I earn more income, I don't want to pay for convenience just because it's the default,
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like getting Uber Eats instead of cooking and paying for an app or service just because I don't want to do it.
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Not only does this really add up at the end of the month, but I feel like we have to keep working now to really kind of keep up this lifestyle.
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And then it just becomes like the chicken or the egg situation.
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In the bigger picture, I feel like we're forgetting that washing dishes
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or doing the laundry and cooking and all the chores that we're trying to skip is life.
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And it makes me wonder if we're outsourcing more and more of our lives to somebody else, then what are we doing with our free time?
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When I first got this camera, I had about 50 tabs open researching about all the different attachments
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and apps and all the accessories that I needed for this camera.
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Ironically, all this researching was just getting in the way of me going out there and making videos.
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And it always starts innocently.
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We decide on a new hobby and buy whatever is necessary.
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But then we're introduced to an entire world of equipment that would make it a bit better.
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And once we get better, there's always the pro version that we can upgrade into.
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I think it's really cool to set goals to justify the upgrade.
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Like when I reach a certain milestone, I got this new camera and I absolutely love it.
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But I feel like we shouldn't miss the whole point of having hobbies, which is to have fun and to be expressive not another thing that we have to purchase.
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Something that I truly do not care about is upgrading my career or status within my career.
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It's a really interesting thing being a YouTuber because everything is measured.
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I feel like there's always a number telling you whether you're doing good or whether you're falling behind.
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In the beginning, I had a video go viral and it reached a million views.
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And I remember feeling so excited.
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I was so grateful.
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But from that moment on, my expectation was so high that if another video didn't do as well,
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I feel like I was so disappointed and I was so hard on myself.
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And I eventually learned that you cannot get so wrapped up in these numbers.
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Whether it's good or bad, it really does not determine what kind of creator I am or how good the video is.
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And it could be just by chance.
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And to wrap your whole identity around that is such a losing game.
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I also know that every growth asks for something in return.
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Whether it cuts into family time, more time at the computer, or mental health.
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And it's worth asking, is the trade-off really worth it.
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I love what I do, but I love my life more and I don't want to give
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so much to my work that I have less time to enjoy the life it was supposed to help me build.
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I grew up in a household where we really didn't celebrate anything like holidays and birthdays.
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When I got married, I put that pressure on myself.
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I was like, we are going to celebrate big no matter what it is.
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But then of course I felt like I had to outdo myself
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and every single year there was this pressure to go even bigger and do something better, make it memorable.
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I remember just feeling so stressed out weeks in advance and I couldn't even enjoy the moment.
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It took me a while to realize that going big isn't always better.
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It really does not matter the place, the food, or how much money you put into it,
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what really matters is who you're celebrating with.
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I have no interest in upgrading myself.
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And that does not mean that I don't want to grow as a person.
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Of course I do.
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But what I mean is that I don't want to live my every day thinking that I'm not good enough.
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In my 20s, I feel like I was constantly trying to improve myself.
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I wanted to fix my acne and I wanted to be more toned, I wanted to be more disciplined and have a better routine.
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And really the list went on and on and on.
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But in my 30s, I have this inner peace knowing
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that things are always happening the way that is supposed to happen for me.
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And you know, as weird as it sounds, I know I'm not perfect and I'm really happy because it means
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that better things are coming and there are more lessons to learn.
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And I'm really happy to be just on that journey.
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I'm not saying that we should never upgrade our lives, but we should definitely be careful on what we choose to upgrade because money, yes, of course it gives us freedom,
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but we still get to choose what we do with that freedom.
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So I would love to know in the comments what you think is worth upgrading in your life
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and what you would keep the same.
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Vocabulario y notas de pronunciación para esta lección
Esta lección de conversación de nivel B2 se basa en el vídeo “Things I refuse to upgrade even though I can afford to!”. Este vídeo tiene 117 frases y 1774 palabras para practicar shadowing. La parte hablada dura 10:24. El hablante habla a un ritmo natural de unas 171 palabras por minuto, cercano a una conversación cotidiana. El 84 % de las palabras está entre las 3.000 más comunes del inglés; conviene repasar el resto antes de empezar.
Vocabulario clave de este vídeo
Las 15 palabras más avanzadas del vídeo, con su pronunciación y significado:
| Palabra | Pronunciación | Significado |
|---|---|---|
| convenience sustantivo | /kənˈvinjəns/ | conveniencia |
| splurge verbo | /splɝd͡ʒ/ | chorrear |
| logistics sustantivo | /ləˈd͡ʒɪstɪks/ | logística |
| hobby sustantivo | /ˈhɑ.bi/ | afición, hobby |
| genuinely adverbio | /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.ɪn.li/ | auténticamente, genuinamente |
| justify verbo | /ˈd͡ʒʌstɪfaɪ/ | legitimar, justificar |
| wrap verbo | /ɹæp/ | envolver, fajar |
| babysit verbo | /ˈbeɪ.bi.sɪt/ | cuidar niños (los), hacer de canguro/niñero |
| blurry adjetivo | /ˈblɜːɹi/ | borroso, desenfocado |
| breather sustantivo | /ˈbɹiː.ðə(ɹ)/ | respirador |
| excite verbo | /ɪkˈsaɪt/ | emocionar |
| expressive adjetivo | /ɪkˈspɹɛsɪv/ | expresivo |
| innocently adverbio | /ˈɪnəsəntli/ | inocentemente |
| outsourcing sustantivo | /ˈaʊtˌsɔː(ɹ).sɪŋ/ | externalización, tercerización |
| secondhand adjetivo | /ˌsɛk(ə)n(d)ˈhænd/ | de segunda mano, segunda mano |
Phrasal verbs que vas a escuchar
| Palabra | Significado |
|---|---|
| fall behind verbo | atrasar |
| go out verbo | salir |
| keep up verbo | continuar con, continuar así |
| stress out verbo | agobiar, estresar |
| walk around verbo | deambular |
Gramática en este vídeo
Las estructuras que más usa el hablante, con las palabras exactas del vídeo:
| Estructura | En el vídeo |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + participio pasado — una acción pasada que sigue importando ahora | we've upgraded · has protected · has probably saved |
| Voz pasiva be + participio pasado — importa lo que ocurre, no quién lo hace | wasn't even made · is measured |
| Oraciones de relativo who / which + oración — información extra sobre una persona o cosa | friend who pays · hobbies, which is |
Pronunciación a tener en cuenta
El hablante usa 41 contracciones y formas reducidas, como I'm, don't, we're. Dilas en su forma corta, tal como las oyes.
- Los sonidos de “sh” y “zh”: craftsmanship /ˈkɹæfts.mən.ʃɪp/, decoration /ˌdɛkəˈɹeɪʃən/, illusion /ɪˈl(j)uːʒ(ə)n/, fraction /ˈfɹæk.ʃən/, expectation /ˌɛk.spɛkˈteɪ.ʃən/
- Palabras largas — cuida el acento: genuinely /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.ɪn.li/, innocently /ˈɪnəsəntli/, accessory /əkˈsɛs.(ə.)ɹi/, ironically /aɪˈɹɑnɪkli/, decoration /ˌdɛkəˈɹeɪʃən/
Sonidos difíciles para hispanohablantes:
- s + consonante al inicio — sin añadir una “e” delante: splurge /splɝd͡ʒ/, scratch /skɹæt͡ʃ/
- /v/ — no es /b/: los dientes tocan el labio inferior: convenience /kənˈvinjəns/, expressive /ɪkˈspɹɛsɪv/, evolve /ɪˈvɑlv/, viral /ˈvaɪɹəl/
- /z/ — sonora, no /s/: nowadays /ˈnaʊ.ə.deɪz/, closet /ˈklɑzɪt/
Cómo practicar con este vídeo
- Escucha el vídeo entero una vez sin hablar y anota las palabras que no conoces.
- Empieza a velocidad 0,75×, haz shadowing frase por frase y vuelve a la velocidad normal cuando te resulte fácil.
- Grábate y compara con el original, prestando atención a palabras como convenience, splurge, logistics.
¿Qué es la Técnica de Shadowing?
Shadowing es una técnica de aprendizaje de idiomas respaldada por la ciencia, desarrollada originalmente para la formación de intérpretes profesionales y popularizada por el políglota Dr. Alexander Arguelles. El método es simple pero poderoso: escuchas audio en inglés nativo y lo repites en voz alta de inmediato, como una sombra que sigue al hablante con solo 1-2 segundos de retraso. A diferencia de la escucha pasiva o los ejercicios de gramática, el shadowing obliga a tu cerebro y músculos de la boca a procesar y reproducir simultáneamente patrones de habla reales. Las investigaciones muestran que mejora significativamente la precisión de la pronunciación, la entonación, el ritmo, el habla conectada, la comprensión auditiva y la fluidez al hablar, convirtiéndola en una de las metodologías más efectivas para la preparación del IELTS Speaking y la comunicación en inglés en el mundo real.