EFE learning modules / Banking & Budgeting

Banking & Budgeting

Common Expressions Back to Catalog

Explore Contexts

Select a specific social context to practice.

Break the bank

/ብሬክ ዘ ባንክ/

ከአቅም በላይ የሆነ ወጪ

To cost more than one can afford.

ከአንድ ሰው አቅም በላይ የሆነ ከፍተኛ ዋጋ ያለው ነገር።

In Practice

"We can go on vacation, but we shouldn't break the bank."
"Buying that luxury car will break the bank."
Fluent Tip

Used when discussing expensive purchases or budgeting limits.

Nest egg

/ነስቲ ኤግ/

ለወደፊት የተቀመጠ ጥሪት

A sum of money saved for the future.

ለወደፊት አገልግሎት ተብሎ የተቀመጠ ወይም የተቆጠበ ገንዘብ።

In Practice

"They have a nice nest egg for their retirement."
"Start building your nest egg early in life."
Fluent Tip

Commonly used in the context of retirement or long-term savings.

Rainy day fund

/ሬይኒ ዴይ ፈንድ/

የመከራ ቀን ገንዘብ

Money saved for unexpected emergencies.

ባልታሰበ ጊዜ ለሚመጣ አስቸኳይ ችግር ተብሎ የሚቀመጥ ገንዘብ።

In Practice

"It is wise to keep a rainy day fund for car repairs."
"She used her rainy day fund when she lost her job."
Fluent Tip

Used to describe emergency savings.

Bring home the bacon

/ብሪንግ ሆም ዘ ቤከን/

ቤተሰብ ማስተዳደር/ገቢ ማግኘት

To earn a living or provide financial support for a family.

የቤተሰብ ፍላጎቶችን ለማሟላት ገቢ ማግኘት ወይም መስራት።

In Practice

"They both work hard to bring home the bacon."
"He is the one who brings home the bacon in their house."
Fluent Tip

Informal way to describe earning a salary for the household.

Penny-pinching

/ፔኒ ፒንቺንግ/

ቆጣቢነት/ስስት

Being very careful with money, sometimes to an extreme.

ገንዘብን በማውጣት ረገድ በጣም ጥንቃቄ ማድረግ ወይም መስሰት።

In Practice

"After losing his job, he had to do some serious penny-pinching."
"The company's penny-pinching is affecting employee morale."
Fluent Tip

Can be used positively for budgeting or negatively for being cheap.

Money to burn

/መኒ ቱ በርን/

ተትረፈረፈ ገንዘብ

To have a lot of extra money to spend on unnecessary things.

ለማያስፈልጉ ነገሮች የሚወጣ ትርፍ ወይም ብዙ ገንዘብ መኖር።

In Practice

"He just bought a yacht; he must have money to burn."
"I don't have money to burn on expensive designer clothes."
Fluent Tip

Used to describe someone who is very wealthy and spends freely.

Foot the bill

/ፉት ዘ ቢል/

ሂሳብ መክፈል

To pay for something, especially when it is expensive.

ለአንድ ነገር በተለይም ውድ ለሆነ ነገር ሂሳብ መክፈል ወይም ወጪውን መሸፈን።

In Practice

"My parents offered to foot the bill for the wedding."
"The taxpayers end up footing the bill for the project."
Fluent Tip

Often used when someone else is paying for a large expense.

Balance the books

/ባላንስ ዘ ቡክስ/

ሂሳብ ማመጣጠን

To make sure that the amount of money spent is not more than the money earned.

ወጪና ገቢን ማመጣጠን ወይም የሂሳብ መዝገብን ማስተካከል።

In Practice

"The accountant is staying late to balance the books."
"It's hard to balance the books with such high inflation."
Fluent Tip

Professional and personal finance term for accounting.

Bottom line

/ቦተም ላይን/

ዋናው ነጥብ/ጠቅላላ ትርፍ

The final total or the most important factor in a situation.

የመጨረሻው ውጤት ወይም የአንድ ነገር ዋናው ነጥብ።

In Practice

"The bottom line is that we need to save more money."
"How will this new policy affect the company's bottom line?"
Fluent Tip

Used in business to refer to net profit or the ultimate conclusion.

Hit the jackpot

/ሂት ዘ ጃክፖት/

እድለኛ መሆን/ከፍተኛ ገንዘብ ማግኘት

To suddenly win or receive a large amount of money.

በድንገት ከፍተኛ መጠን ያለው ገንዘብ ማሸነፍ ወይም ማግኘት።

In Practice

"They hit the jackpot with their investment in technology."
"He felt like he hit the jackpot when he got the job."
Fluent Tip

Used for sudden financial success or good fortune.

Money talks

/መኒ ቶክስ/

ገንዘብ ያለው ይደመጣል

Wealth gives a person power and influence.

ገንዘብ ያለው ሰው ተሰሚነትና ተፅዕኖ አለው የሚል ሀሳብ።

In Practice

"In this business, money talks and everything else is secondary."
"He got the contract because he's rich; money talks."
Fluent Tip

Used to describe how wealth influences decisions.

Paid under the table

/ፔይድ አንደር ዘ ቴብል/

ህገወጥ ክፍያ/በድብቅ መከፈል

Receiving money in secret to avoid taxes or regulations.

ግብርን ላለመክፈል ወይም ከህግ ለመደበቅ በድብቅ የሚፈጸም ክፍያ።

In Practice

"Some workers prefer to be paid under the table."
"The contractor was caught paying his employees under the table."
Fluent Tip

Refers to unofficial or illegal financial transactions.