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be penny-wise and pound-foolish

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be penny-wise and pound-foolish

To be so concerned with saving money that one ignores larger problems and ultimately ends up spending more. I know you don't want to pay for this expensive course of treatment, but when ignoring your health lands you in the hospital, you'll see that you were penny-wise and pound-foolish.

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be penny-wise and pound-foolish

  (old-fashioned)

to be extremely careful about small amounts of money and not careful enough about larger amounts of money Saving a little bit of money on repairs can lead to long-term damage. You don't want to be penny-wise and pound-foolish, now do you?

See also: and