feel the pinch
Budget getting squeezed
To feel the pinch is to experience financial hardship or the strain of reduced resources.
The pinch is the tightening of circumstances—less money, fewer options: Retirees on fixed incomes are feeling the pinch as prices rise.
Often used when economic conditions worsen gradually rather than catastrophically.
- crunchCrushing, grinding noise
- squeezeFirm bilateral compression
- fall on hard timesExperience sudden misfortune
- strainExcessive stretching force
- bear the bruntAbsorb primary impact
tighten · stretched thin · budgeting · frugality · cutting corners · tight budget · cost of living · austerity · economy · scarcity · inflation · belt-tightening · counting pennies · poverty · wages · sacrifice · living lean · rainy day fund