ProverbHuman Nature
English origin1598
English origin1598Penny wise and pound foolish.
Meaning: Obsessing over minor savings while making careless decisions about major expenses creates net financial loss.
Example: “Skipping the car's oil change to save money is penny wise and pound foolish.”
Origin: The earliest known use is in Francis Meres's 1598 English version of a Spanish devotional book, and Robert Burton's The Anatomy of Melancholy (1621) made "penny wise, pound foolish" familiar. It describes someone careful over small sums and careless over large ones.
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