IELTS Speaking Part-2 A plan you made and later changed

Describe a plan you made and later changed

You should say:

·       What the plan was

·       When you changed your mind

·       Why you changed your mind

·       And explain how you felt about it

This is actually something that happened to me very recently. I was planning to take a trip to Disneyworld in Florida with my family; we’ve been there a couple of times before and my kids were pestering me to go again. We only had a week’s holiday and I really fancied going there to have a break from the routine. Everyday life can become monotonous and wearisome and I felt that we all needed some sunshine and a chance to let off steam.

I spent a couple of weeks researching hotels and flights, trying to find the best price because I’m very careful with money and don’t like to overspend. To help me with this process, I created an excel spreadsheet with all the costings because I was trying to work to a budget that I had set myself. When I finally reached the stage that I was happy with the choices I had made, particularly because it was coming in under budget, I got out my credit card to make the booking.

The first thing to do was book the flights and I input all my details and my family’s and then got to the page where you put in the credit card details. I filled in the long credit card number, the security code and the expiry date and then suddenly I hesitated. I can’t even explain why, but the cursor was just hovering over the ‘pay now’ button and I couldn’t click it.

So many thoughts were going through my head and I was having doubts about spending such an astronomical amount of money, comparatively speaking, for a week in the sun. Thoughts popped into my head of how I could better spend that money and so I never pressed the button. Do I regret it? Yes and no. Yes, because next week I won’t be lying in the sun or meeting Mickey Mouse, but, on the other hand, I won’t be feeling guilty for splashing out on an overpriced holiday. We’re going to have a staycation instead.

Describe a plan you made and later changed

You should say:

• What the plan was

• When you changed your mind

• Why you changed your mind

• And explain how you felt about it

Recently, I had a plan to take my family on a trip to Disneyworld in Florida. We had visited there a couple of times before, and my kids were eager to go again. With just a week for our holiday, I thought it would be the perfect break from our routine. I felt we all needed some sunshine and a chance to unwind.

I spent weeks researching hotels and flights, aiming to find the best deals because I’m quite careful with money and dislike overspending. To manage this, I created an Excel spreadsheet to track all the costs and keep within a budget I had set. When I finally found options that were under budget and suitable, I was ready to make the booking.

The process began smoothly as I entered the flight details and my family’s information. But when it came time to input my credit card details and confirm the payment, I suddenly hesitated. I couldn’t explain why, but I found myself staring at the ‘pay now’ button without being able to click it.

I was overwhelmed by doubts about spending such a large amount of money for just a week’s vacation. Thoughts about how I could use the money more wisely kept surfacing. Eventually, I decided not to go through with the booking. Instead, we opted for a staycation.

Do I regret the decision? A bit. I won’t be lounging in the sun or meeting Mickey Mouse next week. However, I don’t regret avoiding the guilt of spending a significant amount on an expensive holiday. We’re now planning to enjoy our time off locally, which, in a way, feels like a more balanced choice.

Vocabulary and Phrases

Phrase/Word	Meaning in English	Bangla	Russian	Hindi
Monotonous	Boring or repetitive, lacking variety	একঘেয়ে	Монотонный	एकरस
Wearisome	Causing tiredness or fatigue	ক্লান্তিকর	Утомительный	थकाऊ
Overspend	To spend more money than intended or budgeted	অতিরিক্ত ব্যয়	Перерасходовать	अत्यधिक खर्च करना
Costings	The total costs or expenses involved	খরচের হিসাব	Расходы	लागत
Budget	A plan for managing income and expenses	বাজেট	Бюджет	बजट
Astronomical	Extremely large or excessive	বিশাল	Астрономический	विशाल
Staycation	A vacation spent at home or nearby, rather than traveling	ঘরে থাকা ছুটি	Отпуск дома	घर पर छुट्टी
Guilt	A feeling of having committed a wrong or mistake	অপরাধবোধ	Вина	अपराधबोध
Splash out	To spend a lot of money on something	অতিরিক্ত খরচ করা	Тратиться	पैसे उड़ाना
Hesitate	To pause before taking action due to uncertainty	দ্বিধা করা	Колебаться	संकोच करना
Reconcile	To make compatible or agree with	সমাধান করা	Примирить	मेल-मिलाप करना