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EFE learning modules / Financial Literacy & Budgeting

Financial Literacy & Budgeting

Common Expressions Back to Catalog

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Break the bank

/ብሬክ ዘ ባንክ/

አቅምን በላይ መሆን

To cost more than one can afford

አንድ ሰው ከአቅሙ በላይ እንዲያወጣ የሚያደርግ ውድ ነገር

In Practice

"Buying a luxury car would break the bank."
"We need a vacation that won't break the bank."
Fluent Tip

Used when discussing expensive purchases.

Nest egg

/ኔስት ኤግ/

የወደፊት ጥሪት

Money saved for the future or retirement

ለወደፊት ወይም ለጡረታ ጊዜ ተብሎ የተቀመጠ የገንዘብ ቁጠባ

In Practice

"They have a nice nest egg for retirement."
"I'm starting a nest egg for my daughter's college."
Fluent Tip

Common in personal finance and retirement planning.

Tighten one's belt

/ታይትን ዋንስ ቤልት/

ወጪን መቀነስ

To spend less money than usual

ከወትሮው በተለየ ወጪን በመቀነስ መቆጠብ

In Practice

"We need to tighten our belts this month."
"The company is tightening its belt during the recession."
Fluent Tip

Used during times of financial hardship.

Balance the books

/ባላንስ ዘ ቡክስ/

ገቢና ወጪን ማመጣጠን

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

ወጪው ከገቢው እንዳይበልጥ የሒሳብ መዝገብን ማስተካከል

In Practice

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

Used in accounting and household budgeting.

Foot the bill

/ፉት ዘ ቢል/

ሒሳብ መክፈል

To pay for something, especially when it is expensive

ለሆነ ነገር ሙሉ ክፍያ መክፈል በተለይ ውድ ሲሆን

In Practice

"Who is going to foot the bill for the party?"
"The government had to foot the bill for the repairs."
Fluent Tip

Used when assigning responsibility for payment.

Bread and butter

/ብሬድ ኤንድ ባተር/

ዋና የገቢ ምንጭ

A person's main source of income

አንድ ሰው ለኑሮው የሚያስፈልገውን ገቢ የሚያገኝበት ዋና ሥራ

In Practice

"Tax consulting is the firm's bread and butter."
"Small businesses are the bread and butter of our economy."
Fluent Tip

Used to describe essential income sources.

Money doesn't grow on trees

/መኒ ደዝንት ግሮው ኦን ትሪስ/

ገንዘብ በቀላሉ አይገኝም

Money is limited and requires effort to earn

ገንዘብ ውስን ስለሆነ ለማግኘት መስራትና በጥንቃቄ መጠቀም እንደሚገባ የሚያሳይ

In Practice

"You can't have a new toy every week; money doesn't grow on trees."
"Be careful with your spending, money doesn't grow on trees."
Fluent Tip

Often said to children or people spending recklessly.

In the red

/ኢን ዘ ሬድ/

ዕዳ ውስጥ መሆን

Spending more money than you have; in debt

ከገቢ በላይ ወጪ በማውጣት እዳ ወይም ኪሳራ ውስጥ መግባት

In Practice

"The company has been in the red for three years."
"My bank account is in the red again."
Fluent Tip

Used in business and banking contexts.

In the black

/ኢን ዘ ብላክ/

ትርፋማ መሆን

Earning more money than you spend; having a positive balance

ከወጪ ይልቅ ገቢው በልጦ ትርፍ ላይ መሆን

In Practice

"After a year of losses, the shop is finally in the black."
"We need to get our budget in the black."
Fluent Tip

Opposite of 'in the red', showing financial health.

Dirt cheap

/ደርት ቺፕ/

በጣም ርካሽ

Extremely inexpensive

ዋጋው እጅግ በጣም የወረደ ወይም ርካሽ

In Practice

"I got these shoes dirt cheap at the sale."
"Land in that area is dirt cheap."
Fluent Tip

Informal way to describe low prices.

Pay through the nose

/ፔይ ስሩ ዘ ኖውዝ/

ከመጠን በላይ መክፈል

To pay much more than something is worth

ለአንድ ነገር ተገቢ ካልሆነ በላይ ውድ ዋጋ መክፈል

In Practice

"We paid through the nose for those concert tickets."
"You'll pay through the nose if you buy at the airport."
Fluent Tip

Used when complaining about high prices.

On a shoestring

/ኦን ኤ ሹስትሪንግ/

በጥቂት በጀት

Doing something with a very small amount of money

በጣም አነስተኛ በሆነ ገንዘብ ወይም በጀት አንድን ነገር ማከናወን

In Practice

"They started the business on a shoestring."
"We are traveling on a shoestring budget."
Fluent Tip

Used to describe low-budget projects or lifestyles.