pay-as-you-go

American  

[pey-uhz-yoo-goh] / ˈpeɪ əz yʊˈgoʊ /

noun

1. the principle or practice of paying for goods and services at the time of purchase, rather than relying on credit.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or based on such a principle or practice.

   a pay-as-you-go budget.

pay as you go Idioms  

1. Pay for purchases immediately instead of deferring payment. For example, Ruth and Bob had no credit cards; they believed in paying as you go. [First half of 1800s]

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Etymology

Origin of pay-as-you-go

An Americanism dating back to 1830–40

Example Sentences

Then in July electricity customers paying by direct debit monthly or quarterly will have £30 credited to their accounts, and pay-as-you-go customers will have £30 credited to their keycard card.

From BBC

Companies sometimes opt for pay-as-you-go plans, while others might buy enterprise plans that include a certain amount of use per worker.

From The Wall Street Journal

The main critique of the Social Security program, however, is that it operates on a pay-as-you-go basis, which makes it very vulnerable to demographic shifts.

From MarketWatch

In one of my favorite papers in behavioral economics, Stefano DellaVigna and Ulrike Malmendier looked at gym memberships and found that many people chose expensive monthly contracts rather than paying per visit, then exercised so little that the pay-as-you-go option would have been much cheaper.

From The Wall Street Journal

Half of Gen Z members thought Social Security taxes were saved for them, such as in a personal account or invested in the trust fund, and just 29% knew that what they paid in taxes was used for current retirees in the pay-as-you-go system.

From MarketWatch