why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free

English

Proverb

why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?

1. Do not expect somebody to make a costly commitment if it will give them nothing they do not already have; used especially as a warning against having sexual intercourse before marriage.
   • 2005, Steven Gordon, The Future of the Music Business:

     The whole idea of why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free relates to offering only a very brief sample of your music online. I have intellectual property, and I treat that intellectual property very seriously as an artist.

   • 2007, Elina Furman, Kiss and Run:

     In the past, women who wanted to move in with a boyfriend would get a strict talking-to about a common male mentality: “Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?”

   • 2008, Inge Auerbacher, Highway To New York: A Lady Truck Driver Adventure, page 38:

     I can get plenty of dames, so why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free...ya know what I mean?

See also

• why buy a book when you can join a library