5 common English expressions about money

We all deal with money — spending it, saving it, sometimes running out of it. There are phrases for each of these situations in English, and you'll hear them pretty often. Here are some of the most common ones.

Break the bank

When something's so expensive that it would use up all your money, we say it would "break the bank." We use this phrase when the price of something is way beyond our budget — not just expensive, but unreasonably expensive for our situation. It's often used to explain why we can't or won't buy something.

For instance:

"The designer bag looked stunning, but it would break the bank."

"Renovating the entire house could break the bank."

"Planning a wedding these days can really break the bank."

Make ends meet

"Making ends meet" means having just enough money for your basic needs, like rent, food, bills. Nothing extra, just the essentials. You'll hear this phrase a lot when people talk about getting by on a tight budget.

For example:

"With careful budgeting, they were able to make ends meet each month."

"Many people work multiple jobs to make ends meet."

"Freelancing isn't easy, but it helps me make ends meet."

Cash cow

If something keeps bringing in money regularly without much extra effort, that's what we call a "cash cow." People use this phrase a lot in business to talk about products or services that reliably make money.

Here are some examples:

"Subscription services have become a cash cow for many tech companies."

"The movie franchise turned into a cash cow for the studio."

"Investing in real estate has become their cash cow."

In the black

Being "in the black" means you're not losing money — you've got more coming in than going out. While you might hear this phrase in everyday conversation, it's especially common in business when talking about profits.

Some examples include:

"After careful spending and increased sales, the business is now in the black."

"The restaurant struggled at first but is now in the black."

"Once we pay off the loan, we'll be back in the black."

Tighten your belt

When money gets tight and you need to spend less, you "tighten your belt." The phrase comes from the idea of pulling your belt tighter when there's less food to eat. These days, we use it whenever we talk about cutting back on spending and being more careful with money.

For example:

"Jane decided to tighten her belt and stop eating out so often."

"The economic crisis has forced many to tighten their belts."

"We're saving for a house, so we have to tighten our belts for a while."

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.