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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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Things I refuse to upgrade even though I can afford to!”. This video has 117 sentences and 1774 words to shadow. The speech runs for 10:24. The speaker talks at a natural 171 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 84% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| convenience noun | /kənˈvinjəns/ | The quality of being convenient. |
| splurge verb | /splɝd͡ʒ/ | To (cause to) gush; to flow or move in a rush. |
| logistics noun | /ləˈd͡ʒɪstɪks/ | The process of planning, implementing, and controlling the efficient, effective flow and storage of goods, services and related information from their point of… |
| hobby noun | /ˈhɑ.bi/ | An activity that one enjoys doing in one's spare time. |
| genuinely adverb | /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.ɪn.li/ | In a genuine manner; truthfully, truly. |
| justify verb | /ˈd͡ʒʌstɪfaɪ/ | To provide an acceptable explanation for. |
| wrap verb | /ɹæp/ | To enclose (an object) completely in any flexible, thin material such as fabric or paper. |
| babysit verb | /ˈbeɪ.bi.sɪt/ | To watch or tend someone else's child for a period of time, often for money. |
| blurry adjective | /ˈblɜːɹi/ | Not clear, crisp, or focused; having fuzzy edges. |
| breather noun | /ˈbɹiː.ðə(ɹ)/ | Something or someone that breathes. |
| craftsmanship noun | /ˈkɹæfts.mən.ʃɪp/ | The quality of being a craftsman. |
| excite verb | /ɪkˈsaɪt/ | To stir the emotions of; to cause to feel excitement. |
| expressive adjective | /ɪkˈspɹɛsɪv/ | Effectively conveying thought or feeling. |
| innocently adverb | /ˈɪnəsəntli/ | In an innocent manner. |
| outsourcing noun | /ˈaʊtˌsɔː(ɹ).sɪŋ/ | The transfer of a business function to an external service provider. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| fall behind verb | To be late (for a regular event) |
| go out verb | To leave, especially a building. |
| keep up verb | To maintain; to preserve; to prevent from deteriorating or falling. |
| stress out verb | To become stressed. |
| walk around verb | To walk with no planned destination; to meander. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | we've upgraded · has protected · has probably saved |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | wasn't even made · is measured |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | friend who pays · hobbies, which is |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 41 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, we're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: craftsmanship /ˈkɹæfts.mən.ʃɪp/, decoration /ˌdɛkəˈɹeɪʃən/, illusion /ɪˈl(j)uːʒ(ə)n/, fraction /ˈfɹæk.ʃən/, expectation /ˌɛk.spɛkˈteɪ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: genuinely /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.ɪn.li/, innocently /ˈɪnəsəntli/, accessory /əkˈsɛs.(ə.)ɹi/, ironically /aɪˈɹɑnɪkli/, decoration /ˌdɛkəˈɹeɪʃən/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like convenience, splurge, logistics.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.