tight money

A situation in which money or loans are very difficult to obtain in a given country. If you do have the opportunity to secure a loan, then interest rates are usually extremely high. Also known as "dear money".

Investopedia Says:
When there are tight money conditions in the business world, capital is scarcer than usual and therefore commands a higher price. Firms tend to have a harder time obtaining loans and financing expansions in tight money conditions and tend to pay higher than normal interest rates if they are successful in obtaining funds.

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Market condition that exists when the Federal Reserve, acting through the Federal Open Market Committee reduces the amount of credit available to the public through the banking system. This is sometimes known as draining reserves. During periods of tight credit, borrowers face stricter lending standards at rising interest rates, although interest rates may in fact be quite reasonable considering market demands for credit.

When the System Open Market Desk at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York sells Treasury securities, the supply of bank reserves diminishes and the Federal Funds rate that banks charge each other for overnight borrowings tends to rise. Rising interest rates are the result of tight Federal Reserve Monetary Policy, and also excessive growth in the economy, creating an inflationary situation of too much demand and not enough goods and services to meet market demands. See also Easy Money; Intermediate Targets; Nonborrowed Reserves.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: the economic condition in which credit is difficult to secure
  Antonym: easy money (meaning #2)