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Permalink Reply by Frank on July 25, 2009 at 8:44pm

"Épargner" is when you save for the long-term.

"Économiser" is more generic. If you don't go to the restaurant today because you need to save money for tomorrow's party, you should say "économiser", not "épargner". Although "économiser" can also be used for long-term savings.

Lésiner... We use this verb, but not much in this context. Rather in the negative form, as in "Tu ne dois pas lésiner sur..." (You should go all out for...) or "Elle n'a pas lésiné sur le parfum" (she's put way too much perfume).

Better use "se priver (de)". It works in a wider spectrum of situations.

Les gens se privent de nourriture pour économiser de l'argent, pour aller en vacances à l'étranger

If you want to avoid the "pour" repetition, you can alternatively use "afin de" (afin d'aller en vacances à l'étranger).

"économiser" and "épargner" are implicitely related to money. If you say "j'économise" or "j'épargne", it's enough, we know that you're saving money. Unless you explicitely add what you're saving.

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Permalink Reply by Crack1 on July 25, 2009 at 9:59pm

Thanks Frank
I have never ever heard the French verb 'se priver'.
I just looked it up in my dictionary.

He didn't want to go on holiday this summer because he wants to save his money.
Probably he has some plans to buy a new car, house, etc.
He wants to save his money to buy a new car.
What is the appropriate verb here?

Il veut épargner son argent pour acheter une nouvelle voiture.

If you just want to say that you want to save your money, do you say the following?
Je veux épargner mon argent.

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Permalink Reply by Frank on July 25, 2009 at 10:18pm

Hello Crack,

As stated before, both verbs implicitely refer to money. Épargner de/son argent and Économier de/son argent are perfectly correct, but they sound like repetitions.

Il veut épargner pour acheter une nouvelle voiture

Yes, a car is quite expensive, so "épargner" is the best verb here.

Dans les banque, il y a des comptes spéciaux appelés "comptes d'épargne". Ces comptes plus d'argent que les comptes normaux. Mais après avoir ouvert ces comptes, on ne peut pas en retirer d'argent pendant plusieurs années. Ces comptes sont utiles pour épargner de l'argent pour pouvoir acheter une maison par exemple.
Les parents ouvrent souvent un "compte d'épargne" à leurs enfants. Les enfants ne peuvent pas prendre l'argent qui s'y trouvent jusqu'à ce qu'ils soient majeurs. Mais pendant ce temps, l'argent placé rapport des intérêts. Lorsque l'enfant est majeur, il peut récupérer l'argent. Et il y a beaucoup plus d'argent que ce que les parents avaient mis sur le compte lorsqu'il a été ouvert.

Can you understand and try to translate this into English?

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Permalink Reply by Crack1 on July 25, 2009 at 10:42pm

In banks you will find special accounts called 'savings accounts'.
Those accounts has more money than regular accounts.
When you open such an account, it is not possible to withdraw money for a several years.
Those accounts are useful to save money for the purpose of buying a house, for example.

Parents often open a 'savings account' for their children.

Children are not able to withdraw money until ...
Interests will accrue on the account during the specified period.
When the children are matured, they will be able to reap the benefits.
Children will find more money on the account than what the parents have deposited when they started the account.
[ I don't have time for the moment of writing to translate with greater accuracy. I must sleep now. I trained 90 minutes at the gym today and I am very tired.]

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Permalink Reply by Frank on July 25, 2009 at 10:55pm

Hello Crack1,

You perfectly understood everything. This is the point.

Training your brain _and_ your muscles is excellent. I guess you can hit the hay guilt-free now :)

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Permalink Reply by Frank on July 25, 2009 at 10:23pm

If you just want to say that you want to save your money, do you say the following?
Je veux épargner mon argent.

If, instead of buying something in a shop, you buy the same thing on Ebay in order to save money, definitely use "économiser", not "épargner".

"épargner" is really more when the money is on a bank account that is dedicated to savings.

You can't really "épargner" in the moment. It's something you have to plan.
OTOH, you can "économiser" at any time. Just don't buy something or buy a cheaper one and you have "économisé".

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