Money & Finance

Financial collocations for discussing money, banking, and economics

Introduction

Money talk has its own set of fixed expressions. We "earn a living" not "win a living", "save money" not "keep money". Financial collocations appear everywhere from casual conversations about prices to formal banking discussions.

This chapter covers the most important money and finance collocations for everyday and professional use.

Themes

All Collocations in This Chapter (28)

• earn money To receive money in return for work or effort
• save money To keep money for future use rather than spending it now
• waste money To spend money on things that are unnecessary or not worthwhile
• spend money To use money to pay for goods or services
• lose money To have less money as a result of a bad investment, business failure, or misf...
• make a profit To earn more money than was spent or invested
• go bankrupt To be officially declared unable to pay your debts
• pay a fine To hand over money as a penalty for breaking a rule or law
• cost a fortune To be extremely expensive
• household income The total money earned by all members of a family or household
• living expenses The regular costs of daily life such as food, rent, and bills
• bank account An arrangement with a bank to store and manage your money
• interest rate The percentage charged for borrowing money or earned on savings
• exchange rate The value of one currency compared to another
• pay rise An increase in the amount of money you earn from your job
• tax return An official form or document declaring your income to the tax authorities
• direct debit An arrangement where money is automatically taken from your bank account to p...
• standing order A regular fixed payment set up by you to be sent from your bank account
• credit card A small plastic card that allows you to buy things now and pay for them later
• disposable income The money left over after paying taxes and essential bills
• national debt The total amount of money owed by a country's government
• mortgage payment A regular sum of money paid to repay a loan taken out to buy property
• financial crisis A situation where the value of financial assets drops sharply, causing widesp...
• stock market The system for buying and selling shares in companies
• value for money Something that is worth the price you pay for it
• pocket money A small amount of money given regularly to children by their parents
• tight budget A very limited amount of money available to spend
• lump sum A single large payment of money, as opposed to several smaller payments