Nowadays, money is an important part of our life. Inevitably we talk about money on a daily basis. However, if we want to talk about it in a good and understandable way we must learn some collocations and idioms related to it. So, in this lesson, we are going to learn some idioms about money in English. Stay with us!
Spend Money:
Meaning: Give Money as payment for something
Example: Tom spends a lot of money on traveling.
Save/ Save up / Put aside Money:
Meaning: Keep money for use in the future.
Example: She puts some money aside for her retirement.
Waste / Squander Money:
Meaning: Spend money in a bad way.
Example: Sara wasted/squandered all her money on clothes and fast cars.
Throw Money at/splash out on:
Meaning: To spend a lot of money on something
Example: He’s just splashed out on/threw money at a brand-new car.
Raise Money (Of idioms about money):
Meaning: to collect money from different resources for doing something
Example: We have raised enough money for building the hospital
Read more: What are the idioms with colors in English?
Shouldn’t we put these collocations into practice?!
First scene
A: If I were you, with this high salary, I would spend it on luxurious clothing items!
B: Dude! I don’t want to squander money on unnecessary things!
A: Come on! You earn a lot!
B: Yeah! But I won’t splash out on bullshit items! Besides, I need to put aside enough money to buy a house for myself.
Watch this short video
There are some expressions that can be used to talk about Price:
Idioms about money : Something is expensive
In this section, we will learn what idioms to use to say something is expensive:
To cost an arm and a leg
Example: This car would cost me an arm and a leg.
To cost a fortune (Of idioms about money)
Example: Buying that house cost me a fortune.
To pay over the odds / to pay through the nose
Example: For buying that car I paid over the odds/I paid through the nose.
Read more: What are the idioms about cats in English?
Idioms about money : Something is cheap
Let’s learn about the idioms to say something is cheap in English:
It is going for a song (Of idioms about money)
Example: This car is priced at just 2000 dollars. It is going for a song
It is dirt cheap (=very cheap)
Example: This house is dirt cheap. You can buy it by spending less than 15000 dollars.
It is dead (=very) cheap
Example: This car is dead cheap. You can buy it by just spending 2000 dollars.
It is cheap as chips:
Example: My dad is so happy because the car he is going to buy is cheap as chips.
Reasonably priced:
to be neither cheap nor expensive
Example: Foods in that restaurant are reasonably priced.
Read more: Read the article about idioms about food in English
How to talk about the price in a conversation?! Read the following conversation
Second scene
A: Did you buy John’s car?
B: No dude! It would cost me an arm and a leg!
A: Come on man! He is your best friend! He would sell it to you at a dead cheap price
B: I don’t think so! He needs so much money! It’s not going for a song.
A: I promise you would not pay over the odds. It is already reasonably priced.
Watch this short video
Advanced idioms with money
Now let’s learn some advanced idioms with money:
To be a bargain hunter (Of idioms about money):
Meaning: To like looking for things that are good value for money
Example: Jenny is a real bargain hunter. She is always looking for the cheapest products in online shops.
To save for a rainy day:
Meaning: To save money for difficult situations.
Example: My father always says wise people save money for rainy days.
To live on a shoestring:
Meaning: To have little access to enough money.
Example: I always travel on a shoestring.
To make ends meet (OF idioms about money):
Meaning: To get by or to survive
Example: It is really hard for poor people to make ends meet
To live from hand to mouth:
Meaning: To have little money.
Example: The poor usually live from hand to mouth.
To roll in it:
Meaning: To be very rich/ loaded.
Example: By boss earn a lot of money. He is rolling in it.
To take a mortgage:
Meaning: To borrow money from the bank, especially for buying a house
Example: We need to take a big mortgage if we want to buy this house.
To pay back in installments:
Meaning: To pay your loan in small pieces for a long time
Example: You should pay the money back in installments
Read more: Get familiar with the idioms about health in English
However, we couldn’t learn English deeply without putting it into practice. So, let’s do it!
Third scene
A: What’s up dude?!
B: I feel awful! These days I live from hand to mouth. I can even make ends meet.
A: Sorry! But you should have saved for rainy days. I said to you before.
B: I know! But I have no choice but to live on a shoestring. But I promised my wife to buy a house this year.
A: You want my advice?
B: Sure!
A: For the house you can take a mortgage and pay it back in small installments. And be careful about finding dead cheap houses. You should be a bargain hunter from now on!
In this article, we learned about the most common idioms about money in English. Don’t forget to practice the idioms related to money and use them in your conversations!
