proverb · Words worth keeping
Be ruled by your purse.
Be ruled by your purse.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Keep a proposed expense within the means actually available. The purse is made a guide to choices instead of letting desire set every limit.
What the words are saying
Being ruled by the purse pictures resources imposing a practical boundary. The saying can encourage a comparison between a desired plan and what the person or group can presently support. It does not prescribe a financial strategy or imply that money should govern every value. Some needs remain pressing even when resources are scarce, and people may require assistance rather than another instruction to economise. A useful reading applies the boundary to a particular optional decision without blaming someone for limited means.
Everyday example
A group simplifies the optional decoration for an event so that its available resources cover the main requirements.
When to use it
Use it to consider whether an optional plan fits present means.
What it does not mean
It is not financial advice, and insufficient resources are not a moral failure.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or 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
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases
Entry 1313 · Purse
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English