Money idioms

Here is a list of common money idioms.

Put your money where your mouth is

This expression is used to suggest that one should practice what one preaches.

• All those billionaires who talk about the need to eradicate poverty must put their money where their mouth is.

Pots of money

When you have pots of money, you have lot of money.

• He can buy just about anything he wants. He has inherited pots of money from his father.

Throw money around / money to throw around

To throw money around is to spend it carelessly on unnecessary things.

• He doesn’t have to find a job. He has already got plenty of money to throw around.

Hit pay dirt

To hit pay dirt is to do something that becomes very profitable

• They have hit pay dirt with their new multi-level marketing system.

• Some Bollywood filmmakers hit pay dirt when they produced remakes of successful South Indian films.

Pay through the nose

To pay through the nose is to pay too much money for something.

• I had to pay through the nose to get my car repaired.

Pay top dollar

To pay top dollar is to pay a lot of money for something.

• Employers have realized that they will have to pay top dollar if they want to retain talent.

A pretty penny

When something costs you a pretty penny, it is very expensive.

• That necklace cost me a pretty penny.

Dirt poor

Extremely poor

• She may be dirt poor, but she is honest.

As poor as church mice

Very poor

• They were as poor as church mice when they migrated to Canada in the 1990s.

To hold the purse strings

To hold the purse strings is to control a family’s or company’s money.

• He may be the only earning member of his family, but it is his wife who holds the purse strings.

To tighten the purse strings

To tighten the purse strings is to reduce expenditure.

• If we want to buy a new car we will have to tighten the purse strings a bit.

Filthy rich

Extremely rich

• She is filthy rich and that’s why he married her.

Rob Peter to pay Paul

Borrow money from one person to pay back money borrowed from another person.

• You can’t rob Peter to pay Paul. If that is your policy you will never get out of debt.

Strike it rich

When a business strikes it rich, it becomes highly profitable.

• She struck it rich in the garments business.

Have your fingers in the till

To have your fingers in the till is to steal money from the place where you work.

• They fired him when they discovered that he had his fingers in the till.