feel the pinch idiom
mainly UK（由于收入减少而）手头拮据
to have problems with money because you are earning less than before
When my father lost his job and we had to live on my mother's earnings, we really started to feel the pinch. 当父亲下岗，我们的生活不得不依靠母亲的工资时，我们开始真正感受到了手头拮据。