Sayings/Money

Sayings based on money. Select a saying for more details. Also try Money Sayings Quiz.

A fool and his money are soon parted

Stupid people spend their money carelessly and soon become poor.

A good name is better than riches

Your good reputation is worth more than money.

A good payer is master of another's purse

Someone who is known to always pay exactly as promised can borrow money from other people at any time.

A good paymaster never wants workmen

An employer who pays well is never short of staff.

Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise

It is good for us to sleep early in the evening and wake early in the morning.

He who pays the piper calls the tune

The person who pays a musician can decide what music he wants to hear. And the person who pays for any service has the right to say exactly what he wants.

Health is better than wealth

Being free from illness is better than being rich.

If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys British English

An employer who pays low wages will have bad staff.

Money doesn't grow on trees

It's not easy to get money. We have to work hard to make money. We can't just walk around and pick it like fruit from the trees.

Money is a good servant, but a bad master

If you have money, it will serve you and work for you well. But if you owe money to other people, that money will control you in an unpleasant way.

Money is the root of all evil

According to this saying, all immorality and wickedness is caused by money. This saying is a misquotation, and the original version ("the love of money is the root of all evil") implies that all immorality and wickedness is caused by people loving money, not by money itself.

Money isn't everything

There are other important things in this world, not just money.

Money makes money

If you have money, you can use it to get more money through investment.

Neither a borrower nor a lender be

Do not borrow things. Do not lend things.

Pay beforehand was never well served

If you pay for a service before you receive it, you will not get good service.

Riches have wings

Money can disappear easily. Money is like a bird with wings: it can fly away if you are not careful.

The best things in life are free

We don't have to pay for the things that are really valuable, like love, friendship and good health.

The rich knows not who is his friend

When you have money, you don't know if people are friendly with you because they like you, or because they like your money. The structure of this saying is difficult. In normal English it would be something like: "Rich people do not know who their friends are."

Where there's muck there's money

There is money to be made in dirt and dirty jobs. For example, many people have made fortunes by processing rubbish or waste materials.

You can't take it with you when you die

When we die we leave everything on earth. We don't take anything with us. Even the richest people cannot take their money with them after death. This proverb reminds us that some material or worldly things are not really so valuable as we may think.
These are English sayings and proverbs about money, wealth and riches.

Also try Money Sayings Quiz.

Contributor: Josef Essberger