tighten (one's) belt
To begin to exercise thrift and frugality

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

tighten belt
tighten (your) belt
to spend less money.
I've had to tighten my belt since I stopped working full time.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

tighten one's belt
to economize, to spend less money; to live on less money than usual
I will have to tighten my belt until the economy improves.

If we want to go on a holiday to Europe this year we will have to tighten our belts and begin to save some money.

We decided to tighten our belt and try to save up some money for a holiday.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

tighten one's belt
v. phr. To live on less money than usual; use less food and other things.
When father lost his job we had to tighten our belts. Often used in the expression "tighten one's belt another notch".
When the husband lost his job, the Smiths had to do without many things, but when their savings were all spent, they had to tighten their belts another notch.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲