proverb · Words worth keeping
Ready money will away.
Ready money will away.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Resources immediately available may be easy to use up. The saying warns about the difference between having something now and retaining it for an intended purpose.
Example
A group checks what its available funds are already needed for before making an optional purchase.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
Ready money is pictured as likely to depart. It can prompt attention to impulse and the demands competing for a resource. It does not mean that every expenditure is wasteful or that money always disappears through carelessness. Needs may legitimately absorb it. A useful application clarifies the purpose of a resource before using it, without presenting a financial strategy or blaming scarcity on personal weakness.
When to use it
Use it to consider the intended use of a currently available resource.
Keep in mind
Spending can meet necessary needs; this is not financial advice or a judgment on poverty.
An interpretation of the words, not a claim about their earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Date unknown
- Culture
- English