cut coat according to cloth

cut (one's) coat according to (one's) cloth

To shop or act in accordance with one's financial limitations. You'll go bankrupt unless you start cutting your coat according to your cloth. I know you don't want to lay off any of your workers, but you've got to cut your coat according to your cloth to keep the business afloat. If you want to buy a house, you need to cut your coat according to your cloth and really save your money.

See also: accord, cloth, coat, cut, to

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

cut one's coat according to one's cloth

 and cut one's coat to suit one's cloth

Prov. to plan one's aims and activities in line with one's resources and circumstances. We would like a bigger house, but we must cut our coat according to our cloth. They can't afford a vacation abroad—they have to cut their coat according to their cloth.

See also: accord, cloth, coat, cut, to

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.