spend money

Meaning

This expression means to use your money to pay for goods, services, or experiences. It is a very common daily collocation used when talking about shopping, paying bills, or budgeting. We typically use the preposition "on" after this phrase to specify what was bought.

Examples

• I try not to spend money on things I don't really need.

  I try not to spend money on things I don't really need.

• How much money did you spend on your new smartphone?

  How much money did you spend on your new smartphone?

• We spent a lot of money fixing our car last week.

  We spent a lot of money fixing our car last week.

• She loves to spend money on books and coffee every weekend.

  She loves to spend money on books and coffee every weekend.

• You need to learn how to save rather than just spend money.

  You need to learn how to save rather than just spend money.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I spent money for a new jacket yesterday.

  ✓ I spent money on a new jacket yesterday.

  We use the preposition "on" (not "for") after the verb "spend" when talking about buying items.

• ✗ He spent a lot of money to buying video games.

  ✓ He spent a lot of money buying video games.

  When "spend" is followed by an action, use the gerund (-ing) form of the verb directly, without "to".

Related Expressions

Practice

• I don't want to ___ all my ___ on video games.

  💡 Use the phrase that means paying for things.

  Show answer

  spend money

• It is easy to ___ when you have a credit card.

  💡 The opposite of saving money.

  Show answer

  spend money