scrimped

Cut corners financially

Scrimped is the past tense of scrimp, meaning to be very sparing or frugal, often to the point of hardship.

Someone who scrimped cut corners and made do with less: They scrimped and saved for years to buy the house.

The word suggests careful, sometimes painful economizing rather than simple thrift.

frugal

penny-pinching

Extreme reluctance to spend

tightfistedUnwilling to spend freely
miserlyExcessively reluctant to spend
parsimoniousExcessively unwilling to spend

stingy · sparing · thrifty · economical · budget-conscious · cost-cutting · penny-wise · chary · provident · prudent

insufficient

meager

Deficient in quantity

paltryContemptibly meager
inadequateNot sufficient for purpose
skimpyInadequate in size or amount

measly · scanty · sparse · bare · minimal · limited · lean · slight · deficient · short

saved

hoarded

Collected and concealed

stashedStored in concealment
set-asideReserved for future use
put-awayStore in proper location

accumulated · budgeted · reserved · rationed · stretched · conserved · stockpiled · savings · pennies

hardship

struggling

Experiencing serious difficulty

belt-tighteningReducing expenditures deliberately
sacrificingGiving up something valued
stretchingExtending muscles or material

surviving · managing · coping · economizing · tightening · wanting · needy · strapped · hard-up · cash-strapped

Opposites

spending behavior

scrimpedsplurged

Spent lavishly

squandered · lavished · wasted · indulged · overspent

resource generosity

scrimpedlavished

Gave in excess

showered · heaped · bestowed

resource abundance

scrimpedabounded

Existed in plenty

overflowed · prospered

Phrases

scrimp and saveSpend minimally, accumulate money

Family

scrimp, scrimping, scrimpy, scrimps, scrimper

Familiarity: Top 200,000
Profile: Used worldwide · Timeless · Everyday, not technical · Rated G