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Describe an item on which you spent more than expected: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • What it is
  • How much did you spend on it
  • Why you bought it
  • And explain why you think you spent more than expected.
Show all 38 answers

Cue 1:What it is

  • Begin by clearly stating the item you purchased, including its name and type.
  • Provide a brief description of the item, highlighting its features or significance.

Example

The item I want to talk about is a high-end smartphone that I bought last year. It has a sleek design, an excellent camera, and a lot of advanced features that caught my attention.


Cue 2:How much did you spend on it

  • Mention the actual price you paid for the item, and compare it to your initial budget.
  • Explain any additional costs that may have contributed to the total amount spent.

Example

I spent around 70,000 rupees on this smartphone, which was significantly more than I had planned. Initially, I intended to spend only about 50,000 rupees, but I ended up getting a model with extra features that drove the price up.


Cue 3:Why you bought it

  • Discuss the reasons that motivated you to purchase this item.
  • Include any specific needs or desires that influenced your decision.

Example

I bought this smartphone because my old one was very slow and had a poor camera. I needed a reliable device for both personal and professional use, especially for taking high-quality photos and staying connected.


Cue 4:And explain why you think you spent more than expected

  • Reflect on the factors that led to overspending, such as emotional decisions or marketing influences.
  • Consider how the features or brand reputation played a role in your choice.

Example

I think I spent more than expected because I was really drawn to the brand's reputation and the impressive features of the phone. The advertisements and reviews made me feel that this was the best choice, and I let my excitement override my budget.


Conclusion

    Example

    In conclusion, while I did spend more than I had initially planned on my smartphone, I believe it was a worthwhile investment. It has served me well and has enhanced my daily life significantly.


    Following this structure will ensure you cover all the essential points while providing a clear and engaging response to the cue card topic.


    Tips to answer this Cue Card

    1: Vague Descriptions

    Using vague language can make your answer unclear. Avoid general statements that don't provide specific details about the item or your experience.

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    Tip

    Be specific about the item, including its features and why it stood out to you.


    2: Ignoring the Price

    Failing to mention the exact amount spent can weaken your response. It's important to provide a clear figure to illustrate your point.

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    Tip

    State the exact amount you spent and compare it to your initial budget to show the difference.


    Lack of Personal Reflection

    Not explaining your feelings or thoughts about the purchase can make your answer less engaging. Personal insights add depth to your response.

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    Tip

    Share your emotions about the purchase and why it was worth the extra cost to you.


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    When I was a kid, I had a little pencil box which had these four buttons which gave the pencil box an operative use. When you press the button, the box would open up. When you press the second button, a little part of it would slide out. Basically it was just a little electronical and a fun thing to have and I owned it when I was in 6th. One day after break, I was standing and talking there with one of my friends and another friend of mine was running through the hallway and accidentally she pushed my shoulder and my pencil box hit the ground and it broke into multiple pieces to the point that it was not functional anymore.

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    It Ends With Us is a book I read recently. It's by the author Colleen Hoare. It's mainly a story about two teenagers, Atlas and Lily, and how they just handle their life going through high school, adolescence, and just domestic violence at home. Both of them come from very, very different families. However, they have one common determining factor between them, which is domestic violence. The abuse that they've seen their moms go through is just insane, and they connect through that on a different level. They're actually in the same high school, but they never speak to each other until Atlas actually crashes into an empty house next to Lily's villa. When Atlas is homeless and he doesn't have anywhere to go, he just comes and breaks into the house next to Lily's, and Lily helps him with all the daily necessities like clothes and food, medicines and stuff. Furthermore, their friendship blossoms into love, but it doesn't really fructify as Atlas has to leave. This book really gave me a lot of knowledge about domestic abuse and how to deal with it.

    All Answers

    Here are all the answers by real-users practicing speaking for IELTS Cue Cards on our IELTS Prep App.

    Band 6-7

    I bought an item on which I spend more than I expected is my skin care. Skin care because it is the one essential who keeps my skin hydrated, clean and clear. I feel if I look good and if I look strong, I feel more confident on it. And for this generation like us, skin care is the most essential thing which gives us more confidence. Example, I have bought a tooth. I used to spend Rs.1000 in my skin care. But nowadays in a multiple new range of skin care, I have totally spent over Rs.4999. It's a huge amount of skin care I have carried as I went for a trip and there was a more colder weather. So I have bought a more nourishing and moisturizing skin care. And this helped me to hydrate my skin and look more confident as I used to be. It isn't essential for certain industries like I work in hospitality. There are the looks matter. I need to look happy, strong and nice whenever someone see me. Whenever someone look at me, I should be strong, healthy and nicer to them. And for me confidence is the most essential thing. If I look confident, I can speak confidently and serve my guests very properly. So yes, skin care is the one I spend more than I expect.

    Band 6-7

    that's an interesting question as a shopaholic myself I usually find it difficult to say no to items which I really like and I usually shop online and when I go to stores if I like something I don't hesitate and just buy it but when I shop online I compare prices over the different apps and sites the recent item which I bought was a designer purse and it cost me more than what I thought I was going to expend with my pocket money but again I really needed it for my parties and after a few months that particular item went on sale and on which I should have saved 20% more than what I have actually spent on that item yet again I really liked it my eyes were set on that particular purse so I don't regret it though however my pocket was disrupted

    Band 6-7

    So, the most expensive item that I own would be the thing that I spent more than I expected on. It would be my phone. It's an iPhone 13. I remember buying it around 3 years back and thinking as to what I need in a phone. As before that I had only gotten phones through my own savings and they were quite cheap. Now when I decided to get this phone, I was looking for a smooth ride throughout my usage of this item and I also expected it to last very long. Considering these two things, I decided to go for an iPhone as it is packing all the

    Band 6-7

    So the item that I spent more than I expected was a piece of jewellery. It was more of a personal feeling than what I expected. So the first time I got my salary, I really wanted to do something nice for my parents, especially my mom. I'm really close to her. So yeah, and I ended up buying a piece of jewellery that she really wanted for a very long time. Well, I was hoping to save some of my money just to invest a little bit, but I mean the jewellery price did go up and the pricing did not really matter as much as my emotion because she's given me every possible thing in life and she's always went out of her way to give me those things and make me happy. And for once, I got the chance to do so and I did not really want to miss that. So I did go out and I just got the jewellery that she really wanted and I did end up gifting her and she was so happy that it made me realise that money could come back, but this feeling would never and it was the best moment in my life. I would say that the feeling of happiness and independent I did end up with was nice.

    Band 6

    So, a product that I have bought recently which I feel I spent more than expected was my room's wardrobe. I almost spent over 50,000 rupees on it and I got this from the Ikea store. The reason why I feel I overspent on this product is because I could find better wardrobes at more lucrative deals in my nearby carpenter shop as well. I feel like the brand value of Ikea is just too big and people get attracted towards their products, not for the quality or the durability but for the brand itself. And that may be the reason why I spent a lot on it. To be honest, I regret spending that much money but I do feel if I maintain the quality and ensure that it doesn't get ruined because of factors like moisture or dust, I feel like I could turn this investment into an investment with good returns.

    Band 6

    Very recently I had purchased a phone, which is an iPhone 17 Pro Max, which costed me around 1.5 lakhs. I think it was quite a bit of an expectation. I just bought it with a spur of the moment. I just wanted to indulge in the luxury when everyone around me was carrying, you know, it's an orange phone. I also wanted to buy it because I was, it felt so cool to have it. So once I bought it, and I realized every other options and every other specification in this 1.5 lakh phone is similar to the phone which I had almost for three days, my iPhone 14 Pro. They are very similar except for the outer experience and in the outer appearance and everything, it's similar. It's the same phone. I don't think it was a good buy because I could have just had my phone, which was working perfectly fine, which had all the things which I needed already. I just went, I just had the spur of the moment and just bought it and I feel very bad that I did. And basically this was happened in recent times with me and not only with me, but all of my peers. Whenever we see some advancements are there, we are just so impulsive to get in and just buy it without rethinking it. If it is really a necessity or if it is a luxury or if it's something that we really want, we just go ahead and buy it. It's the same for me in many things. This phone is just an example. Recently I bought another purchase, which cost me around 50,000. It was a bag, which I really regret buying it because it was a necessity.

    Band 6

    Recently, I bought a top from H&M. It costed me around 1000 rupees and if I could have bought it from my neighbor's market, the price could have cut down to around 500 but you know the brand, quality matters. And this is a black top, which is like this basic black top, you could just wear it with anything. And recently, I wore it at a casual get-together with my friends with blue jeans and it looked really awesome. Usually I don't spend a lot of money on basic tops. You know sometimes you see an item and it's off your budget, yes, but you just want it and you get it for yourself. And I think that it's going to be there in my closet for about 2 years because when I buy something which is branded, obviously it's going to last me for about a year or two. Recently, there was a sale going on so I think I actually made a huge profit because in normal price range, I would have got it around like 2000 or something so I'm really glad even though it was out of my budget, I'm glad that I still have it.

    Band 6

    The last product that I spent more on than what I was expecting was actually a lip gloss. Recently my friends went to the UK and I have always grown up watching makeup tutorials on YouTube. So when I learnt about that trip, I was so excited and I asked them to get me a makeup product which wasn't available in India at that time. After they came back, they got me a lip gloss which was for around ₹25 approximately ₹2500. So for me at that time it was expensive because I used to save up from what I used to get in my pocket money and each and every penny was important to me. And the bigger problem was that like a week after their return, the brand was now available in India. So at that time it was like a tiny heart

    Band 6

    Electronic appliances now cost us a fortune. The example for that is I bought an iPhone 16 in the month of October and I got it because my old phone was damaged and was beyond repair. I had to buy a new phone in order to continue my daily operations and since I own a business, I need to have a phone with me all the time and I think the main reason I got that phone was because of the picture quality and the storage and the applications on iPhones. Although I had an iPhone previously, but this was a new model and I think that's the reason I bought it, but after I got it, I got it for Rs. 52,000. But then I had a thought that I could have bought a previous model with less money and could have invested less money on the phone since there was not much difference in both the models of the phone. Yeah, that's about it. That's the reason, that's the object. I think I spent much more than I expected to spend on.

    Band 6

    so the item that I spent the most than the expected was a lipstick. Last year I had a wedding event of my cousin so I need to buy a new lipstick shade and I brought Lakme's red lipstick which cost around 500 in my budget but after I am reaching the shop and after buying the shade they told me it's 1500 so I was so surprised that till last week it was just 500 then how can be it this much higher price so I asked them they told since it is in mall when you purchase it will be more higher value than the things that you get from small small shops okay fine I brought the lipstick but after reaching home and when I tried it on myself I was like this is the worst ever lipstick that I brought and it didn't match with my skin tone and since I brought it I was like I will wear for the wedding and shine like that and after attending the wedding everyone said it is super matching on your face and it is giving you a new refreshing look that time I was like okay fine this lipstick was good but I think it was something I spent more money than it was expected by me and I always regret on spending money

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