What Is "Broke" ?

broke is how I grew up.....on aid to dependent children because my father died when I was young. Hand me downs, garage sales (I got the best score on a geography quiz because I knew how to read a map because of trying to find garage sales!). Using the stove to heat water for baths because the water heater broke and there was no money to fix it...wow, I had forgotten that for a long time. Using the laundromat because you do not have and cannot afford a washer/dryer. Using the heater only when absolutely necessary. Thank goodness I have savings now and a good job. I never want my kids to experience that kind of broke.

To some people I know, it's having to cancel one of their three cruises, or only having to buy one new large screen tv instead of two.

To others, it's not being able to afford food or gas, but still be able to go to the movies and order pizza every night.

To me, it's just barely making ends meet while still living on a modest bare bones budget.

It's when I have a panic attack trying to decide if I should buy strawberries or blueberries for the week because I can't afford both, and my friends looking at me weird b/c I didn't bring bags of snacks for my kids at playdates.

In reality, broke is not having any money at all and being in an absolutely desperate situation. I don't use the word. kids I teach are always complaining they are broke, when they are actually pretty well off. People don't appreciate what they have.

Broke to me when I was a kid:
~No food so have to go to food bank for every meal
~When sick go to government run healthcare with crappy Dr's
~pray that someone will give you an old pair of their shoes cause yours are too tight
~no heat, no a/c
~clothes washed mostly in the sink & hung outside to dry
~ no mattress, just old blankets on the floor
~no presents for xmas or bday
~if gas was on used stove to warm up water for bath
~walked everywhere, my mom never drove a day in her life (why drive if you cannot afford to)...... if we needed to take a bus we had to beg for spare change
~went to an average of 6 schools a year cause we got kicked out of our apartments for not paying rent

That is my past because my mom refused to work. Broke nowadays has a different interpretation like not having a cell phone or the newest designer clothes. I won't use the word *broke* because I know the true meaning.

Broke, to me, is that we literally have no money. This occasionally happens. We do live month to month, and we usually have some left over at the end, but not always...sometimes, we are broke. And when I say that, I mean it. No savings account, no jar of change...broke.

After reading so many of these answers, I might caution some to be more careful with the word...not to use it so frivolously. I can see that some of us (including myself) are suffering the wrath of "broke" and are living "broke" right now. Broke means if something goes wrong, you don't have the money to fix it hidden away. Broke means if your child wants McDonalds, you can't buy it because you literally don't HAVE the three dollars. My heart goes out to the rest of you ladies that are broke...I feel you! But I think we're all doing all right. :)

To me broke is what I am right now, and yet I know it can get worse. After all the bills are paid I have 100 a week to buy everything we need. This includes food, toilet paper, medicine, dog food, cat food, shoes, clothes, gas, dish soap, shampoo, laundry detergent and anything else you can think of. Broke is knowing I can't buy the kids new school clothes this year, so it's time to hit yard sales and resale shops for a couple outfits that will fit. Broke is not having air conditioning in this heat, not having the extra money to go somewhere that is, and not having the money to fill up a pool or something so you can cool off. Broke is making enough food for the kids to eat and eating whatever scraps they don't.

But, I know it could be worse. We still have internet, which is important to be able to continue school. We have fans and I can afford to run them. It's summer and the garden is producing lots of veggies. The extra walking is helping me get in shape and loose some baby weight.

You know that's a good idea. I should write down all the things we do have right now. Even that little bit made me feel way better.

I say we are "broke"
by this I mean that I live paycheck to paycheck, that I cannot afford to buy the things I "want" and I also have to budget very carefully for the things we "need"
That at the moment I am Praying earnestly that the car continues to run, because there is no savings for a repair, that I am praying everyone stays Healthy because I cannot afford an office visit or Goodness forbid a trip to Urgent Care.
It means there is absolutely not a penny extra for anything non essential...and it sucks...that is what Broke is to us.

You should not use the word broke in your case, you should use the words thrifty, cheap, conservative - because you DO have but choose not to waste it. A truly "broke" person is someone who doesn't have money to even buy food.

Me :) we live paycheck to paycheck and it doesn't always stretch! No savings or nest egg. Darn it!

Broke to us is when we are down to $20. and not getting paid for another week or 2.. Yes, we have been there many times.

broke means out of money for food, gas, and necessities.

I use it that way too -to mean that we have no money for any discretionary spending, but literally it does mean you have no money at all.

Broke is when we are trying to decide which cell phone we are going to turn off so we have money for food or gas. Broke is when hubby "brown bags" it to work because there isn't enough money to let him eat out. Broke is when we don't have anything for savings, scrape together $20 for a birthday cake, hold off on buying shoes for another paycheck, buying $2 patches for the newly ripped jeans and going "commando" cause I can't stand to have another hole in my panties, ect ect....

When my brother in law and his wife divorced, he left everything he owned with her. I thought that was kind. He told us he was broke. He asked us if we would buy him some furniture because he was broke and had nothing. My generous husband went out and bought him several things at a furniture outlet that we knew we could get really good deals. After spending our savings for him....he mentioned his 401K that had 50,000.00 in it. Our savings totaled $800.00 and we spent it all...He said he was broke. We took him at his word.

When I say I'm broke, that means I have NO money until the next paycheck.

I don't use this word and have never been in a position with absolutely no money or resources or ability to earn money. My parents never used this word because they were always working hard (farming) and finding a way to support us reasonably. Some years we had less, some more, but they did their best for us.

My mother grew up very poor as the youngest of seven whose father died young unexpectedly. She never wanted us to know what that felt like.

I would never use this word with my daughter, because to me "broke" means "given up" and I will not give up doing what I can to provide for my daughter.

I use broke the same way you do. It's a bit tongue-in-cheek. We both have jobs, have a house, have the basics etc. but literally as soon as we catch up on one thing or get a little bit saved, something comes along and wipes us out and we're back to paycheck-to-paycheck living, having to check and see how much $ is in the account before going grocery shopping, skipping a bill payment every now and again, etc.

That said, I do have a healthy retirement account a few old accounts that are hard to access so if we really needed money in an emergency, I can get it. But we say it all the time so that the kids know to not ask for things and so that we remind ourselves that until we're out of debt, we have no business spending money unless we have to.

My definition of being broke means that you dont have dime to your name. I absolutly hate this word!!! Growing up, my parents were horrible at managing their money and my brothers and I really suffered cause of it. I never really ever remember my parents going a week without them saying they were broke. So now that Im married and have a child I have asked my husband not to use it. He will say we are broke when he means we need to save but everytime he says it, reminds me of having no money all over again and I dont want to put my family into that perdicament!

My husband and i have different definitions< He says it even when we have savings and no debt and he cant blow large amounts on nonsense, lol. I have only said that if i were worried about my next meal.

When I say 'we're broke', I mean we've spent our amount on the monthly budget. We always have more money than our budget is set for, but that's our cushion money for a rainy day. By the way, we're broke for July already. :)

Well, I use it in the same way you do. Obviously, it means literally having no money. We all use phrases like this in some way every so often.

Broke is the family that lived in a car during winter months, not telling anyone, until one teacher figured it out. They were afraid to tell the school because they thought they would lose their children. Or the family that lived without heat or hot water for 6 months after moving into a new apartment. In each case it took a caring person to provide immediate assistance and phone calls to get relief. Oh, and each of these adults was working , but the money didn't cover basic expenses. Thank God things are much better for both families now. I am so grateful for all that I and my family have.

To me, it means that you don't want to spend money on whatever the item is. If someone truly is broke, yes, they are broke. But the other day, my daughter asked me to take her to McDonald's and I said we can't afford it because we don't have the money for it. Really, I just didn't want to spend $3.00 on garbage food that night.

When I say I'm broke it means I have hundreds due on all my utilities and I'm paying every dime towards them and just keeping them on, barely. I'm buying only the food we need and not driving because we don't have gas. I will always have people paying me at the beginning and end of every week. But it's such a pitiful small amount of money I don't always have the money to pay any towards the utilities if I buy groceries or we have to make due with what we have to eat at home, even if it doesn't go together or make much sense. To me that's broke. When I'm maxing my credit cards to keep food on the table or maxing out a card to avoid shut off....I'm broke. That's my life in daycare. I love what I do. But it's a just get buy business.

However...I'm trying to avoid using this word. I can't believe how deeply ingrained it is into me. I get kids I don't expect for a weekend or a week or two when some other provider goes on vacation. God brings me what I need just in time to NOT get anything shut off. I've had many shut off notices. It's been years since I had all the utilities paid at once and I'm waiting earnestly to get through this next 6 months when my van will finally get paid. I refuse to talk to that bank. I pay my van payment in weekly chunks so that if I get behind it's not more than a little bit and never more than 30 days late. They can't put anything on the credit report. But every month the bill says I'm overdue even though by the time it comes I've already sent the last bit of last months payment. I've paid the utilities this way too for so long that it would take at least 2000 dollars to get me caught up and it likely would not last long. I've had extra money like that 3 times in the last couple of years and every time something major breaks or I end up spending it on something that's been on the wish list for too dang long.

I work 7 days per week, 24 hours per day. I lived on the floor of my fathers mechanic shop when I was a kid and I slept in our car with my husband when we first came to KC. I've lived on fried potatoes and ketchup for weeks. I do know what the proper use of broke is.

I can't go to the doctor. There's no way I'm trading the co-payment for getting some utility shut off. So when I put my back out this last week I downed an entire bottle of ibuprofen in 3 days. I know, not smart. But I was in so much pain and there wasn't any other option.

The pastors I watch on tv say that we are what we say we are. So if we go around saying we are broke we will stay broke. They say that it's biblical....and they do have plenty of references to prove it.... we are supposed to go around saying we are rich. I think they may be right. I just don't know how to say those words. What would anyone else think if I said I was rich? My daycare parents already resent me for what I charge them and try their darndest at times to get me to reduce their pay. If I said I was rich I think that they would all take a hike. Every time we do some work on our property (which husband pays for), I get to listen to snide remarks about how much THEY are paying for our property. If I buy a new couch, which I need every 5 years because their kids wear mine out...I get to hear how much THEY are paying for my things. Not every parent acts like that. But many do.

When I hear "broke" in regards to money - I think the person has no money in the bank...or that a person has more money going OUT than they do coming in...

to me? broke means something you cannot fix...and if there is a will - there is a way - so I say NEVER GIVE UP!! NEVER SURRENDER!!