“not have a bean”别理解成“没有一颗豆子”，而是没钱；有很少的钱；身无分文。

【例句】
When we married we hadn't a bean so we bought all our furniture second-hand.
我们结婚的时候没钱，所以我们的家具都是买的二手货。

He didn't have a bean during college, and he's been something of a penny-pincher ever since.
他在大学期间没钱，从那以后，他就一直是个吝啬鬼。