Spending, Saving, and Earning: Phrasal Verbs About Money Explained

Last Updated on: 25/01/2026

Money comes up in almost every conversation. We talk about shopping, bills, debts, loans, and salaries all the time. While textbooks may stick to formal financial vocabulary, everyday English is full of phrasal verbs.

These short expressions, made by pairing a verb with a preposition or adverb, often carry meanings that are not immediately clear. For instance, if someone says, “He coughed up $200 for parking fines,” it means he had to pay reluctantly, not that he was sick.

Learning these verbs will:

• Make your English sound more natural.
• Help you follow TV shows, films, and podcasts.
• Boost your IELTS or TOEFL scores since natural vocabulary counts.
• Improve your business English for meetings, emails, and reports.

This article covers more than 30 phrasal verbs related to money. We will group them into sections on spending, borrowing, earning, and business. You will see clear explanations, lots of examples, and a quick reference table at the end.

Why Learn Money Phrasal Verbs?

According to research, about 25 percent of spoken English is made up of phrasal verbs. If you avoid them, you may still communicate, but you will sound unnatural and may miss what others mean.

Money is one of the most common topics. People talk about paying bills, borrowing from banks, splitting restaurant costs, or closing deals. In these situations, phrasal verbs appear naturally.

And it is not just casual speech. In a meeting, you might hear:

• “We need to write this off.”
• “Let’s see if we can break even by Q3.”

For students preparing exams, these verbs often appear in listening or writing tasks. Understanding them builds confidence and fluency.

Spending and Saving Phrasal Verbs

When it comes to shopping or managing your money, these verbs show up all the time:

• Save up – keep money aside for something.
  • “She’s saving up for a trip to Europe.”
• Put aside / Put by – reserve money for later.
  • “He puts aside $50 each week for emergencies.”
• Cut back on – reduce expenses.
  • “We’ve cut back on eating out.”
• Dip into – use savings you planned not to touch.
  • “I had to dip into my savings for new tyres.”
• Splash out – spend generously.
  • “They splashed out on tickets for the World Cup.”
• Fork out – spend money reluctantly.
  • “He forked out thousands on home repairs.”
• Shell out – similar to fork out, spending under pressure or without joy.
  • “The company shelled out millions for legal fees.”
• Cough up – finally hand over money, often unwillingly.
  • “He coughed up the rent after being reminded three times.”
• Pay up – settle a debt, usually when forced.
  • “The landlord demanded they pay up immediately.”
• Run out of – have no money left.
  • “By the end of the trip, we ran out of cash.”
• Rip off – overcharge or cheat financially.
  • “Tourists often get ripped off at popular markets.”
• Lay out – spend or invest a large amount.
  • “She laid out thousands for her wedding.”

💬 Mini Dialogue

• A: “How’d you manage to buy that new phone?”
• B: “I’d been saving up, but I still had to dip into my emergency fund and shell out more than I wanted.”

Borrowing, Debt, and Support

Debt and loans are a big part of financial life. These phrasal verbs help describe those experiences:

• Take out (a loan / insurance) – borrow or arrange officially.
  • “She took out a loan for her first car.”
• Pay back – return borrowed money.
  • “Don’t worry, I’ll pay you back on Friday.”
• Pay off – repay completely.
  • “They finally paid off their student loans.”
• Run up (a bill or debt) – accumulate money owed, often carelessly.
  • “He ran up a huge phone bill.”
• Chip in – contribute with others.
  • “Everyone chipped in for the farewell gift.”
• Bail out – rescue a person or company financially.
  • “The government bailed out the bank during the crisis.”
• Put down – make an initial payment or deposit.
  • “We put down a deposit on the flat.”

Earning and Income

Talking about salaries, profits, or even surviving financially often involves these phrasal verbs:

• Get by – manage with limited funds.
  • “I can just about get by on my part-time job.”
• Live on – survive with a specific income.
  • “They live on one salary.”
• Pull in – earn large sums.
  • “She pulls in six figures every year.”
• Rake in – earn quickly, often a lot.
  • “The café raked in profits over the holidays.”
• Bring in – generate revenue.
  • “Advertising brings in steady profits.”
• Cash in (on) – profit from an opportunity.
  • “They cashed in on rising property prices.”
• Cash out – withdraw investments or sell assets.
  • “He cashed out his shares at the right time.”
• Come into (money) – receive inheritance.
  • “She came into a fortune when her uncle passed away.”

Business and Finance

Corporate settings are filled with phrasal verbs about money. If you are using English at work, these are essential for your professional business English vocabulary:

• Write off – accept a loss or cancel a debt.
  • “The firm wrote off bad investments.”
• Mark up – raise prices on goods.
  • “Stores mark up gifts before Christmas.”
• Break even – cover costs without profit or loss.
  • “The café finally broke even in year two.”
• Close down – shut a business permanently.
  • “The factory closed down last year.”
• Hand out – give payments, bonuses, or allowances.
  • “The company handed out annual bonuses.”

Real-Life Mini Stories

• Everyday Spending: Sarah saved up for months, but when prices rose, she had to fork out more than she planned.
• Debt: A student took out a loan, ran up debts, and worked overtime to pay it back and eventually pay it off.
• Earnings: A start-up cashed in on high demand, raked in millions, and later the founders cashed out their shares.
• Business: A shop marked up prices during peak season but still failed to break even.
• Friends: A group chipped in for a holiday, ran out of money midway, and dipped into savings to keep going.

Conclusion

Conversations about money in English are full of phrasal verbs. From saving up and cutting back on expenses, to raking in profits or paying off debt, these expressions appear everywhere. They make your English sound more natural, help you follow native speakers, and give you confidence in both casual and professional settings.

The best way to master them is to use them. Start today, and you will quickly feel more comfortable discussing money in English.

You can also study our List of Phrasal Verbs by Root Verb to strengthen your foundation.

FAQ

Quick Reference Table

Phrasal Verb	Meaning	Example
Save up	Keep money aside	She’s saving up for a holiday.
Put aside / Put by	Reserve for later	He puts aside $50 weekly.
Cut back on	Spend less	We cut back on eating out.
Dip into	Use savings	I dipped into my fund.
Splash out	Spend freely	They splashed out on tickets.
Fork out	Spend unwillingly	He forked out thousands.
Shell out	Pay reluctantly	They shelled out for repairs.
Cough up	Give money reluctantly	He coughed up the rent.
Pay up	Settle debt under pressure	They had to pay up.
Rip off	Overcharge	Tourists got ripped off.
Run out of	Have none left	We ran out of money.
Lay out	Spend heavily	She laid out thousands.
Take out	Borrow officially	He took out a loan.
Pay back	Return money	I’ll pay you back Friday.
Pay off	Repay fully	She paid off her debt.
Run up	Accumulate	He ran up a huge bill.
Chip in	Contribute	We chipped in for dinner.
Bail out	Rescue financially	The bank was bailed out.
Put down	Make deposit	They put down a deposit.
Get by	Manage on little	I can just get by.
Live on	Survive with income	They live on one salary.
Pull in	Earn a lot	She pulls in six figures.
Rake in	Earn quickly	The café raked in profits.
Bring in	Generate	It brought in revenue.
Cash in (on)	Profit opportunistically	They cashed in on trends.
Cash out	Sell or withdraw	He cashed out his shares.
Come into	Inherit	She came into money.
Write off	Cancel debt	The firm wrote off losses.
Mark up	Raise prices	They marked up goods.
Break even	Cover costs	The café broke even.
Close down	Shut completely	The store closed down.
Hand out	Distribute payments	They handed out bonuses.