Describing Financial Behaviours: English Vocabulary List

careful to not spend money in an unnecessary or wasteful way

"He is frugal."

"The frugal family saved money by growing their own vegetables repairing old clothes and never eating at restaurants even on special occasions like birthdays."

(of a person) careful with money and resources, avoiding unnecessary spending

"She is thrifty."

"The thrifty shopper always looked for coupons and sales before buying anything and she managed to save thousands of dollars over the course of a single year."

(of a person) careful to avoid danger or mistakes

"Be cautious."

"The cautious driver slowed down at every intersection even when the light was green because she had seen too many accidents caused by reckless drivers."

having the ability to meet financial obligations and paying debts

"The company is solvent."

"After years of struggling the company finally became solvent again and the owners celebrated by taking their employees out for a nice dinner together."

incapable of fulfilling financial obligations due to a lack of money

"He is insolvent."

"The bank declared the business insolvent after it failed to make its loan payments for six months and all of the assets were sold to pay the debts."

costing a lot of money, more than the necessary or affordable amount

"She has extravagant tastes."

"Her extravagant spending habits left her with almost no savings even though she earned a very good salary."

unwilling to spend or give away money or resources

"He is stingy."

"The stingy millionaire never tipped waiters or donated to charity even though he had more money than he could ever spend in his entire lifetime."

(of a person or thing) using more resources, time, or money than is necessary or appropriate

"This process is wasteful."

"The wasteful factory dumped toxic chemicals into the river instead of recycling them and the pollution killed thousands of fish and made the water unsafe."

having an extreme reluctance to spend money or resources

"The old man is miserly."

"The miserly old man lived in a cold dark house with almost no furniture because he refused to spend money on heating or anything else that was not necessary."

having committed to or taken on more tasks, responsibilities, or financial obligations than can be comfortably managed

"The company is overextended."

"The overextended credit card company had lent money to too many risky borrowers and it eventually collapsed when those borrowers could not pay back their loans."

(of a person) unwilling to spend money

"She is penny-pinching."

"The penny-pinching traveler slept at the airport instead of paying for a hotel room and ate only instant noodles for the entire two week trip."

interested in making money or achieving financial gains

"He is profit-minded."

"The profit-minded executive cared only about increasing sales and he did not care about the well being of his employees at all."