beyond our budget

USAGE SUMMARY

"beyond our budget" is a correct and usable phrase in written English.
You could use it when describing something that your group or family cannot afford due to financial constraints. For example, "The trip to South America is beyond our budget, so we'll be planning a staycation instead."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

14 human-written examples

But that was beyond our budget.

The New York Times

"It went way beyond our expectations – and way beyond our budget," Rogers said.

The Guardian

"But we couldn't find anything we liked in Bergen County for under $450,000, which was beyond our budget".

The New York Times

Ms. Blake prefers her lights on a free-standing tree near the door, but since a free-standing tree was beyond our budget, we followed Ms. Hagan's advice.

The New York Times

"We hadn't considered buying a brownstone, because we assumed it was beyond our budget," she said, but after they saw the house, "we decided to reach for it".

The New York Times

"Going to court is way beyond our budget," said Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment in Farmingdale, N.Y.

The New York Times

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

45 human-written examples

Against a background of still-rising emissions, that is likely to take us well beyond our carbon budget.

The Guardian

"This is money beyond our arts budget, which has been going up, and we have not made a block commitment to arts organizations at this scale for decades," Ms. Beresford said.

The New York Times - Arts

When I decided to start college at 20 with three children in tow, who did I call to ask for the $100 community college tuition that was beyond our household budget?

Huffington Post

It is well beyond our research budget to conduct field examinations to judge the accuracy on all the species information, but the above discussion suggest that information from our respondents reflects a rigorous system of knowledge concerning local flora and fauna.

Environmental Management

We did not prepare separate sub-libraries for the three colour morphs as this would have required a total of twelve normalised libraries, which was beyond the scope of our budget.

BMC Genomics

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "beyond our budget" when you want to politely and clearly state that something is not financially feasible for a group or organization.

Common error

Avoid using "beyond our budget" when you actually mean "beyond the scope of the project". Budget refers to financial limitations, while scope relates to the project's boundaries or objectives.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "beyond our budget" functions as a prepositional phrase, often acting as an adjective modifying a noun or pronoun. According to Ludwig AI, the phrase is grammatically correct. It indicates a financial limitation or constraint, meaning something is too expensive to afford.

Expression frequency: Common

Frequent in

News & Media

70%

Science

20%

Formal & Business

10%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "beyond our budget" is a grammatically sound and commonly used phrase to indicate something is unaffordable. Ludwig AI confirms its correctness. Its function is to express financial limitation, and it fits well in various contexts, especially in news, media and science. Alternative phrases include "unaffordable for us" or "outside our price range". When using this phrase, ensure it reflects a genuine financial constraint rather than a limitation of project scope. This phrase is most frequently found in The New York Times, The Guardian and Huffington Post.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

too expensive for us

A simpler and more direct alternative.

unaffordable for us

Replaces "beyond our budget" with a more direct adjective.

outside our price range

Emphasizes the price point exceeding acceptable limits.

more than we can afford

A more explicit statement of financial inability.

exceeds our financial means

A more formal and emphatic way to express the same idea.

not within our financial capabilities

Replaces "budget" with a more formal term, emphasizing capabilities.

financially out of reach

Highlights that the cost makes something unattainable.

we can't swing it financially

An idiomatic expression indicating financial inability.

not economically viable for us

Focuses on the economic practicality of the purchase.

a luxury we can't afford

Emphasizes the non-essential nature and financial strain.

FAQs

How can I use "beyond our budget" in a sentence?

You can use "beyond our budget" to indicate that something is too expensive. For example, "The new marketing campaign is "beyond our budget" this year".

What is a more formal alternative to "beyond our budget"?

A more formal alternative is "exceeds our financial capabilities" or "is not economically viable for us". These alternatives are suitable for business or academic contexts.

Is it grammatically correct to say "beyond our budgets"?

While grammatically understandable, "beyond our budgets" is less common and typically unnecessary unless referring to multiple separate budgets. "Beyond our budget" is generally sufficient.

What's the difference between "beyond our budget" and "over budget"?

"Beyond our budget" means something is too expensive from the outset, while "over budget" implies exceeding an already established budget. For example, "The initial estimate was beyond our budget", versus "We went over budget on the renovation project".