penny-pinch
/ˈpɛnɪpɪn(t)ʃ/informal (originally US )
verb
1 [no object] To be niggardly or parsimonious.
2 [with object] To act in a parsimonious way towards; to make poor; to underfund.
Origin
1940s; earliest use found in Sunday Times-Signal (Zanesville, Ohio). From penny + pinch, after penny-pinched, penny-pincher, penny-pinching.