Ever wonder why we call a little extra spending money “mad money” like one of our listeners named Amy wondered? Or maybe you found yourself curious about the term “pin money” while binge-watching “Bridgerton.”

These money-related phrases aren’t just old-fashioned expressions. They actually tell fascinating stories about the evolution of women and money in society.

Did women really need money for pins?

Today, you probably won’t hear the term “pin money” very often unless you’re watching a historical drama or reading historical fiction, but we do still use it. These days, “pin money” refers to a trivial amount of money or something you’ve set aside for incidentals. For example, you might say something like, “I’ll use my pin money to buy us a couple of coffees for the road!” before you set off on a journey.

But in the late 1600s, when the term “pin money” first appeared on the scene, it referred to an allowance given by a man to a woman in his family, such as his wife or daughter. 

Where does the word “pin” come in? Well, some sources say that “pin money” literally referred to money to buy pins for dressmaking or securing garments. But according to the Oxford English Dictionary, “pin money” is “a (usually annual) sum allotted to a woman for clothing and other personal expenses; especially such an allowance provided for a wife’s private expenditure.” 

The first known use of the term was actually in a legal document from 1674, in which a woman requested “200 [pounds] per annum, pin-mony [sic] in case of separation” after providing an affidavit of “hard usage” — in other words, cruel treatment. So in this instance, the term appears to refer to yearly maintenance payments, which would be granted if the husband and wife separated, to help provide for her security. 

According to Google Ngrams, usage of the term “pin money” peaked in 1777. It dropped pretty steadily after that, but it saw a brief revival in the early 1900s, and it’s been on the rise again. Who knows? Maybe that’s thanks in part to it cropping up in historical settings in current pop culture.

Mad money: the original safety fund

Now, let’s fast forward to the 1920s. Women were going on dates without chaperones — scandalous! — and making strides to become more independent. The 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote in 1919, but many banks still didn’t allow women to open accounts without their husband’s co-signature. Many jobs were still out of reach for women, too, so true financial independence was a way off.

Enter “mad money” – cash a woman carried for emergencies or unexpected expenses, or surplus money that a woman could spend on a whim. 

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term “mad money” first appeared in the Lima News & Times-Democrat in 1922  — that’s Lima, Ohio. It read:

“The 1922 girl always ‘squirrels’ or hides, a few dollar bills known as ‘mad’ money.”

And as an aside, the word “squirrels” is in quotation marks in that sentence because it was also a new word at the time. I mean, people had been talking about squirrels — the animals — for hundreds of years, but using the word as a verb to describe hiding or hoarding money like a squirrel hides or hoards food was new. 

As for “mad money,” Merriam-Webster says it’s an old-fashioned term for “money that a woman carries to pay her fare home in case a date ends badly (as in a quarrel).” But these days, the term is less tied to gender and simply refers to an emergency fund or a small surplus for personal use. 

So, you wouldn’t use “mad money” to regularly pay your bills . . . even if your bills regularly make you mad. 

Butter, eggs, and financial freedom

And here’s a more rural idiom: “butter and egg money.” It’s a term that refers to the extra money women earned from their work, particularly on farms. 

Think of “butter and egg money” as the original side hustle, but with cows and chickens! Although today’s entrepreneurs might earn extra cash through online shops or ride-sharing, farm wives created their own pocket money through skilled work with dairy and poultry.

“Butter and egg money” wasn’t just a saying — it was a real source of independence for farm women. While men typically controlled the main farm income from crops like tobacco, women managed the chicken coops and dairy production. It was one of the few ways farm wives could earn their own income.

Take Elizabeth Robinson of Maryland. According to the Smithsonian Collection Blog, during the 1950s she kept detailed farm diaries. She carefully tracked every egg collected and dollar earned from selling eggs and butter. In 1951 alone, she made $237.25 from these sales, which would be about $2,900 today.

How language grows with society

These money phrases are like little time capsules. As women gained more financial rights, some terms disappeared while others changed meaning. “Pin money” sounds old-fashioned now, but “mad money” is still around. 

Modern financial language aims to be more inclusive. We talk about “emergency funds” instead of “mad money,” and “personal spending” instead of “pin money.” But these old terms remind us how far we’ve come — from needing special words for women’s money to having a financial vocabulary that works for everyone.

Next time you set aside some “mad money” for emergency cash or earn “butter and egg money” from your neighborhood farm stand, remember: you’re using words that tell a story of women’s growing financial independence.