scrimp and save
Budget very tightly
To scrimp and save is to spend as little as possible, cutting back on expenses and setting money aside for a future goal.
The phrase emphasizes persistent frugality over time: They scrimped and saved for years to buy a house.
Scrimp alone means to be thrifty to the point of stinginess; paired with save, it suggests disciplined sacrifice rather than mere cheapness.
- skimpEconomize excessively
- economizeReduce expenses deliberately
- conserveKeep from being depleted
- budgetPlan for spending
- live within meansSpend only what's affordable
frugality · thriftiness · parsimony · penny-pinching · pinch pennies · austerity · pinch · cut corners · make do · stretch a dollar · bargain hunting · couponing · brown bag it · rainy day · rationing · piggybank · simplicity · scratch a living
- thrift sayingspenny wise, pinch pennies, penny pincher, live within means, make ends meet
scrimp and savesplurge
Spend freely, impulsively
squander · live beyond one's means · throw money around · shop till you drop · fritter away
scrimp and savelive it up
Enjoy oneself lavishly
live large · live for today · live beyond one's means · live like a king · keep up with the Joneses
scrimp, save, scrimped, scrimping, scrimps, saved, saving, saves, saver