5 common English expressions about money

We all deal with money. We spend it, save it, and sometimes run out of it. English has a phrase for each of these situations, and you'll hear them pretty often. Here are five of the most common ones.

Break the bank

If something would "break the bank," it costs far more than you can afford. People often use it to explain why they can't or won't buy something. You'll hear it just as often in the negative, "it won't break the bank," meaning something is affordable.

• I'd love that bag, but it would break the bank.
• Planning a wedding these days can really break the bank.
• Dinner there won't break the bank, and the food is great.

Make ends meet

"Making ends meet" means having just enough money to pay for the basics, like rent, food, and bills. There's nothing left over for extras. You'll hear it a lot when people talk about getting by on a tight budget.

• It's hard to make ends meet in a city this expensive.
• A lot of people work two jobs just to make ends meet.
• Freelancing isn't easy, but it helps me make ends meet.

Cash cow

A "cash cow" is something that keeps bringing in money without much extra effort. People use it a lot in business to talk about products or services that reliably make money.

• Subscriptions have become a cash cow for a lot of tech companies.
• That film series turned into a real cash cow for the studio.
• The holiday apartment is their cash cow. It pays for itself and then some.

In the black

Being "in the black" means making a profit, with more money coming in than going out. The opposite is "in the red," meaning you're losing money or you owe it. Both come from old accounting books, where profits were written in black ink and losses in red. You'll hear them most in business, but people use them about their own finances too.

• The restaurant struggled at first, but it's finally in the black.
• Once we pay off the loan, we'll be back in the black.
• My account is in the red again, and it's only the 20th.

Tighten your belt

When money gets tight and you need to spend less, you "tighten your belt." If you speak German, this one will sound familiar, because den Gürtel enger schnallen means the same thing.

• We're saving for a house, so we have to tighten our belts for a while.
• Jane tightened her belt and stopped eating out so often.
• Lots of families are tightening their belts this year.

Now that you know these idioms, money talk should be a breeze. Keep using them, and it'll pay off!

Want to hear how they're used in real conversations? Check out our Daily Dose of Denglisch Docs video.