ટકાનું તીતર, કાઠી ભરી જાર ખાય, વેચ્યું ત્યારે ટકા ને ટકા.

ṭakānuṁ tītara, kāṭhī bharī jāra khāya, vēcyuṁ tyārē ṭakā nē ṭakā.

Literally: A partridge worth a penny eats a granary full of millet, and when sold, it is still worth only a penny.
What it means: Said of something that costs a great deal to maintain but yields very little value when sold.

Also said as

ગુજરાતી કહેવતસંગ્રહ (Gujarati Kahevat Sangrah) (1923) ગુજરાતી કહેવતસંગ્રહ (Gujarati Kahevat Sangrah) (1921) · read from the scan by machine — the Gujarati itself is unchecked · English is machine-made and nobody has checked it yet

Heard it differently, or know we've got the sense wrong? Tell us — that is exactly the kind of correction this needs.