What does shoestring budget mean

Noun In earlier times, wandering peddlers offered townspeople a variety of items and trinkets, such as fabrics, embroidery materials, and even patent medicines. Examples of shoestring in a Sentence Noun trying to start a business on a shoestring. Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Yet, Adelman noted, grassroots activists, particularly those in developing nations, are often doing so without the benefit of connection and solidarity, and on a shoestring budget.

First Known Use of shoestring Noun , in the meaning defined at sense 1 Adjective , in the meaning defined at sense 2. Buying Guide Our team at The Usage has selected the best hiking boots for women of Learn More About shoestring.

Time Traveler for shoestring The first known use of shoestring was in See more words from the same year. Listen to Our Podcast About shoestring. Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox! Sign Up. Style: MLA.

English Language Learners Definition of shoestring. Kids Definition of shoestring. Get Word of the Day daily email! Test Your Vocabulary. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Translations of on a shoestring in Chinese Traditional. See more. Need a translator? Translator tool. Browse on a full stomach idiom. Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes. Image credits. Word of the Day sweetheart. Blog Outsets and onsets! Read More. November 08, To top. English Examples Translations. Sign up for free and get access to exclusive content:.

Free word lists and quizzes from Cambridge. Tools to create your own word lists and quizzes. Word lists shared by our community of dictionary fans. Sign up now or Log in. Finding areas in your budget to scale back on your spending may help you free up some cash to save. Take any money you can trim from areas of your budget and deposit the money into a high-yield savings account. Invest that money, and it could grow each year. Other ways to save money on a shoestring budget include picking up side gigs to earn and then save more money, pay down high-interest credit cards first, and then move the former payments into a savings receptacle like a certificate of deposit or money market account.

Besides savings, you can even invest money on a shoestring budget. First, if your employer offers a k retirement account, make sure to set aside some of your pretax dollars for it, especially if your employer will match your contribution. Consider using any tax returns or bonuses to invest in ETFs or mutual funds. It is possible to start your own business on a shoestring budget, but like investing and saving on a shoestring, it takes organization and ingenuity.

Creating a budget that spans at least half of the year according to the amount of your seed money plus any potential revenue. Keep your employee roster lean, and if you can run the business alone and put off paying yourself while it gets up and running, even better. Home-run businesses often cost less than renting an office, and if you are planning on selling products, bear in mind that the upfront costs of inventory are usually high.

Shipping directly from wholesalers after you receive payments from customers may likely be less expensive. If you decide to open an "online" story for products, make sure to budget a high-speed internet service, plus a domain name and an affordable platform to host your business. Marketing a business doesn't have to be expensive. You can begin by utilizing social media sites and creating free accounts strictly for your business. Another way to gain customers is to put up online ads using pay-for-click advertising methods.

Or consider starting an email list of potential clients. In your email, send them a well-written pitch in a blog style with helpful content related to your business. If your business is personal services, like legal or financial, or patient-based, if you are a therapist or nutritionist, ask your clients to pay for your services at the time rendered rather than bill them.

Tens of millions of Americans live on a tight budget. In fact, as of , one-third of Americans reported living in the U. Living on a tight budget can be done by carefully watching where your money goes and trimming away extra overhead and expenses. For example, buying groceries on sale, clipping coupons, and buying in bulk may save you money on food. If you have high-interest credit cards, work on paying them off and use cash instead of credit to avoid going into debt.

Look for free events for entertainment and check to see if your children qualify for reduced or free meals at their school. By living frugally, you should be able to stretch a tight budget and still pay for necessities. A shoestring approach may mean starting a business with limited funds or capital investments, or it may mean living a slim budget to save money.

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Investing Essentials. Retirement Savings Accounts. Wealth Management.