English Idioms: Money & Finance — 10 Expressions You Need to Know

無論是談判薪水、討論預算，還是看英語新聞，你都會遇到大量關於金錢的英語慣用語。Whether you’re negotiating a salary, talking about a budget, or watching the news in English, you’ll encounter money idioms constantly. Native speakers use these expressions in boardrooms, classrooms, and everyday conversation. In this article, we explore 10 essential English idioms about money and finance — with Chinese translations, meanings, origins, and real example sentences you can use right away.

這些慣用語從日常的緊縮預算表達到關於財富與影響力的有力諺語，涵蓋範圍廣泛。掌握它們不僅能幫助你聽懂英語母語者的對話，更能讓你在討論財務話題時聽起來自然流暢。These expressions range from everyday phrases about tight budgets to powerful proverbs about wealth. Mastering them will help you understand native speakers and express yourself with confidence.

1. Cost an Arm and a Leg 價格貴得要命

Arti: To be extremely expensive; to cost a very large amount of money.

中文意思：價格非常昂貴；花費大量金錢。字面意思是「花費一條手臂和一條腿」，形容某物的代價高得令人咋舌。

Asal: The exact origin is debated, but the phrase has been in common use since the mid-20th century. Some trace it to portrait painters who charged more for depicting more limbs. Others link it to wartime sacrifice. Regardless, the vivid image of paying with body parts captures how painfully expensive something can be.

📝 Example 1: Renting an apartment in central Tokyo costs an arm and a leg — most young people live far from the city. （在東京市中心租房子貴得要命——大多數年輕人只能住在城市外圍。）

📝 Example 2: “That designer bag costs an arm and a leg,” she said, putting it back reluctantly.

2. Break the Bank 花光所有積蓄

Arti: To be so expensive that it exhausts all your financial resources; to spend far more than you can comfortably afford.

中文意思：花費太多以致耗盡所有財力資源；支出遠超過自己能負擔的範圍。

Asal: This expression comes from the gambling world, especially the famous casinos of Monte Carlo in the 19th century. When a player won more chips than the casino kept at a single table, the bank was “broken” — the dealer covered the table with a black cloth. The phrase entered everyday English to describe any expense that wipes out your finances.

📝 Example 1: You don’t need to break the bank to have a great vacation — there are many affordable destinations with stunning scenery. （你不必花光所有積蓄才能享受美好的假期——有很多風景優美的平價景點。）

📝 Example 2: The wedding didn’t break the bank because they chose a beautiful outdoor venue instead of an expensive hotel.

3. In the Red 虧損；赤字

Arti: To be in debt; to have spent more money than you have earned; to have a negative bank balance or be running at a financial loss.

中文意思：處於負債狀態；支出超過收入；銀行帳戶呈負數，或事業處於虧損狀態。

Asal: This phrase comes from traditional bookkeeping practices. For centuries, accountants recorded financial losses and debts in red ink, while profits were written in black ink. If a business or individual was “in the red,” their accounts showed more debt than profit. The phrase remains widely used in business and banking today.

📝 Example 1: After three months of low sales, the small restaurant found itself deep in the red and had to take out a loan. （三個月業績慘淡後，這家小餐廳深陷虧損，不得不申請貸款。）

📝 Example 2: I was in the red for most of my twenties — student loans are no joke.

4. In the Black 盈利；財務健康

Arti: To be financially profitable; to have more money coming in than going out; to have a positive bank balance or be operating at a profit.

中文意思：處於盈利狀態；收入多於支出；銀行帳戶呈正數，或事業正在獲利。

Asal: From the same bookkeeping tradition as “in the red” — profits were recorded in black ink. When a business’s accounts showed more black than red, they were financially healthy. “Black Friday” in the US gets its name from this tradition — it was historically the day when retailers moved from the red into the black for the year.

📝 Example 1: After two difficult years, the company is finally back in the black and planning to expand. （經歷了兩年的艱難時期，公司終於恢復盈利，並計劃擴大規模。）

📝 Example 2: Her freelance business stayed in the black all year, giving her the confidence to quit her day job.

5. Nest Egg 積蓄；退休儲備金

Arti: A sum of money saved over time, usually for a specific future purpose such as retirement, a major purchase, or an emergency fund.

中文意思：長期積累的儲蓄金，通常用於特定的未來目的，如退休、重大購置或緊急備用金。

Asal: The term comes from an old farming practice. Farmers would place a real egg — or a ceramic dummy egg — in a hen’s nest to encourage her to keep laying eggs in the same spot. The “nest egg” started small but was meant to grow. By the 17th century, the phrase had become an English metaphor for savings set aside to grow over time.

📝 Example 1: After thirty years of careful saving, he had built up a comfortable nest egg to fund his retirement. （經過三十年的謹慎儲蓄，他積累了一筆可觀的退休金。）

📝 Example 2: Financial advisors recommend starting your nest egg as early as possible — even small contributions grow significantly over time.

6. Pay Through the Nose 付出極高代價

Arti: To pay an extremely high price for something, far more than it is worth or than you expected; to be significantly overcharged.

中文意思：為某樣東西付出極高的價格，遠超其實際價值或預期金額；被嚴重索取過高費用。

Asal: One colorful theory traces this phrase to 9th-century Ireland, where Danish Vikings imposed a harsh poll tax on the Irish. Those who failed to pay reportedly had their noses slit as punishment. While historians debate the true origin, the phrase has been recorded in English since the 17th century and vividly captures the pain of being overcharged.

📝 Example 1: Because we booked flights last minute, we paid through the nose — the tickets cost almost three times the normal price. （因為我們臨時訂機票，付出了極高的代價——票價幾乎是正常價格的三倍。）

📝 Example 2: Tourists who don’t research prices in advance often pay through the nose for taxis near popular landmarks.

7. Money Talks 有錢能使鬼推磨

Arti: Wealth gives power and influence; having money allows you to get things done, open doors, and persuade people in ways that words alone cannot.

中文意思：金錢賦予權力和影響力；擁有金錢讓你能完成事情、打通關係，達到言語無法企及的效果。

Asal: The idea that money equals power is ancient, but the compact English phrase “money talks” became widely popular in the 20th century. The full saying is often “money talks, everything else walks.” Shakespeare explored similar themes centuries earlier: “Money is a good soldier, and will on” (The Merry Wives of Windsor).

📝 Example 1: The project got approved the moment the CEO mentioned the budget — money talks in business, plain and simple. （CEO一提到預算，專案立刻獲批——在商業世界，有錢能使鬼推磨。）

📝 Example 2: It’s sad but true: money talks in the music industry, and independent artists often struggle to get noticed.

Watch & Learn: Money Idioms in Action

8. A Penny for Your Thoughts 你在想什麼？

Arti: A polite or friendly way of asking someone what they are thinking, especially when they seem quiet, distracted, or lost in thought.

中文意思：友善地詢問某人正在想什麼，尤其是當他們顯得安靜、心不在焉或若有所思的時候。

Asal: This is one of the oldest money idioms in English. It was first recorded by scholar Sir Thomas More in 1522: “As it is sayd, I penye for your thought.” In an era when a penny represented a meaningful small sum, the phrase offered a playful bargain — I’ll give you a penny in exchange for knowing what’s on your mind.

📝 Example 1: She had been staring out the window for ten minutes. “A penny for your thoughts?” her colleague asked gently. （她盯著窗外看了十分鐘。「你在想什麼呢？」同事輕聲問道。）

📝 Example 2: “A penny for your thoughts,” he said, noticing his daughter had barely touched her dinner and seemed far away.

9. Make Ends Meet 勉強維持生計

Arti: To earn just enough money to cover basic living expenses; to manage financially on a limited or tight income without falling into debt.

中文意思：勉強賺取足夠的錢來支付基本生活開銷；在有限或緊縮的收入下維持財務平衡。

Asal: The origin is uncertain, but two theories exist. The first traces it to accounting — “ends” referred to totals at the beginning and end of a financial ledger, and “meeting” them meant balancing the accounts. The second connects it to tailoring — when fabric was scarce, a tailor had to carefully make both ends of cloth meet with no room for waste.

📝 Example 1: With three children and only one income, the family struggled to make ends meet every month. （家裡有三個孩子，只有一份收入，這個家庭每個月都很難勉強維持生計。）

📝 Example 2: Many young people in expensive cities work two jobs just to make ends meet — rent alone takes most of their salary.

10. On a Shoestring 以極少的預算

Arti: With a very limited amount of money; on an extremely tight budget; managing to do something despite having very little financial resources.

中文意思：以非常有限的金錢；在極為緊縮的預算下；即使財力非常有限也設法完成某事。

Asal: Shoestrings — or shoelaces — were historically one of the cheapest items available, sold by street vendors for almost nothing. The image of managing on a “shoestring” captured the idea of operating with the absolute minimum. The phrase entered American English in the late 19th century and has been used ever since to describe any project, trip, or lifestyle managed on next to nothing.

📝 Example 1: The documentary was filmed entirely on a shoestring budget, yet it went on to win three international awards. （這部紀錄片完全以極少的預算拍攝完成，卻最終贏得了三個國際獎項。）

📝 Example 2: Many successful startups began on a shoestring — a laptop, a great idea, and months of hard work in someone’s bedroom.

快速複習 Quick Review：10個金錢相關的英語慣用語

• 💸 Harganya sangat mahal. — 價格貴得要命，極為昂貴
• 🎰 Menguras tabungan — 花光所有積蓄，耗盡財力
• 🔴 In the red — 虧損、赤字，入不敷出
• ⬛ In the black — 盈利、財務健康，收支有餘
• 🥚 Nest egg — 積蓄、退休儲備金
• 👃 Pay through the nose — 付出極高代價，被嚴重索取高價
• 💬 Money talks — 有錢能使鬼推磨，金錢帶來影響力
• 🪙 A penny for your thoughts — 詢問某人在想什麼
• ⚖️ Make ends meet — 勉強維持生計，收支平衡
• 👟 On a shoestring — 以極少的預算，在緊縮財力下

Conclusion 結語

Money is one of the most talked-about topics in every language — and English is no different. 金錢是每種語言中最常被討論的話題之一，英語也不例外。These 10 idioms appear constantly in news articles, business meetings, films, and everyday conversation. The more comfortable you become with them, the more natural your English will sound. 這10個慣用語在新聞文章、商業會議、電影和日常對話中頻繁出現。你對它們越熟悉，你的英語聽起來就越自然流暢。

Choose one or two expressions that feel relevant to your life right now, practice them in real sentences this week, and keep building your vocabulary one idiom at a time. Financial English isn’t just for bankers — it’s for every confident English speaker!