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false economy

noun [C usually singular]
 
 

Definition

an action that saves money at the beginning but, over a longer period of time, results in more money being wasted than being saved: Buying cheap white goods is just a false economy - they're twice as likely to break down.Budgeting and saving money
(Definition of false economy noun from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)
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