MONEY Idioms

Tighten your belt.	If you need to tighten your belt, you must spend your money carefully.  "Another bill?  I'll have to tighten my belt this month!"
Burn your fingers	If you burn your fingers (or get your fingers burnt), you suffer financially as a result of foolish behaviour.   "Jack got his fingers burnt playing on the stock market."
A cash cow	A product or service which is a regular source of income for a company is called a cash cow.   "His latest invention turned out to be a real cash cow."
Cash in your chips	If you cash in your chips, you sell something, especially shares, either because you need the money or because you think the value is going to fall.   "Andy cashed in his chips as soon as business started to slow down."
Other side of the coin	When you want to mention a different or contradictory aspect of a   situation, you refer to the other side of the coin.   "The house is lovely and spacious, but the other side of the coin is that it is far from shops and schools."
Cost an arm and a leg.	If something costs an arm and a leg, it is very expensive!   "The house cost us an arm and a leg, but we have no regrets."
Go Dutch	To go Dutch with somebody means to share the cost of something, such as a meal or a concert.   "Young people today tend to go Dutch when they go out together."
Feel the pinch	When someone feels the pinch, they begin to suffer from a lack of   money.   "With the drop in tourism, hotels and restaurants are beginning to feel the pinch."
Hard up	If you are hard up, you have very little money.   "We were so hard up we had to sleep in the car."
Keep your head above water.	To keep one's head above water means to try to survive by staying out of debt, for example a small business.
On the house	Something which is "on the house" is offered free of charge, usually in a bar or restaurant.   "The new owner offered us a drink on the house."
Kickback	This expression refers to money paid illegally for favourable treatment.  "The property developers were accused of giving kickbacks to the local authorities."
Live beyond one's means	If someone lives beyond their means, they spend more money than they earn or can afford.   "The cost of living was so much higher in New York that he was soon living beyond his means."
Lose your shirt	If you lose your shirt, you lose all your money or possessions, especially as a result of speculation or gambling.   "He lost his shirt when the bank went bankrupt."
Look/feel like a million dollars	If you look/feel like a million dollars, you look/feel extremely good.  "With a tan and a new hairstyle, she looked like a million dollars."
Money burns a hole in your pocket	To say that money burns a hole in somebody's pocket means that they are eager to spend it quickly.  "As soon as she's paid she goes shopping.  Money burns a hole in her pocket!"
Money to burn	People who have money to burn have so much money that   they can spend it on anything they want.
Money doesn't grow on trees	To say that money doesn't grow on trees means that it is not   plentiful or easily obtained.  "Be careful how you spend your money David.  It doesn't grow on trees you know!"
Put money where your mouth is	To put money where your mouth is means to give financial support to activities or causes that you believe are right.
Money talks	Money talks means that people with a lot of money have power and influence.
Nest egg	If you have a nest egg, you have a reserve of money which you put aside for future needs.   "Our parents consider the money from the sale of their house as a nest egg   for their old age."
Be paid peanuts	If you are paid peanuts, you have a very low salary.   "Anne has a very interesting job but she's paid peanuts. Her salary is very low."
Pick up the tab	If you pick up the tab, you pay the bill or pay the cost of something.   "There was a celebration lunch for the group and Bill picked up the tab."
Pretty penny	If something costs you a pretty penny, it costs you a lot of money.   "That new car must have cost him a pretty penny!"
Price oneself out of the market	If you price yourself out of the market, you charge such a high price for your goods or services that nobody buys them.   "He was so eager to make money that he priced himself out of the market."
From rags to riches	If you go from rags to riches, you start off being very poor and become very rich and successful.  "By renovating old houses in the right places, he went from rags to riches."
Rake in the money	If you rake in the money, you make money in large quantities.  "Bob's business is so successful that he's raking in the money."
Rob Peter to pay Paul	If a person robs Peter to pay Paul, they pay one debt with money   borrowed from somewhere else, thus creating another debt.  "David borrowed money from a friend to cover his overdraft; a typical case of robbing Peter to pay Paul!"
See the colour of somebody's money	If you want to see the colour of somebody's money, you want to make sure that the person in question has enough money to pay you before you accept to do something.   "I want to see the colour of his money before shipping the goods."
On a shoestring	If you do something on a shoestring, you do it with very little money.   "When I was a student I lived on a shoestring."
Splash out	If you splash out on something, you spend a lot of money on it.    "Sarah's parents really splashed out on her wedding."