What Being Broke Really Means to Me.

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Being broke doesn’t mean the same thing to everyone, and I’ve come to realize that more and more as I interact with people. I have friends in school who, once their account balance drops to around 20$, they immediately start complaining and saying they’re broke. Honestly, I can’t help but laugh sometimes when I hear them. To me, that is still something worth holding on to. I even admire them in a way because it must be a good place to be financially if you can see that amount of money as being “broke.” If that was my reality, life would probably feel a lot easier.

For me, though, it’s a different story entirely. Being broke is not about the actual figure in my account. I don’t sit down and say, “once I hit this specific amount, then I’m broke.” Instead, I look at it from a very practical angle: what can I afford, and what can’t I afford at that moment? If I can still cover the basic things I need—like food, transport, and data—then no matter what number is left in my account, I don’t yet consider myself broke.

Let me put it this way: as a student, food and transport fare are non-negotiable. If I get to a point where I can’t even afford to eat at least twice in a day, or I can’t pay bike or bus fare to get to where I need to go, then I’ll confidently say I’m really broke. That’s the stage where it hits hard because those are the basic necessities. But if I can still manage to buy food and move around, even if my balance is on the low side, I wouldn’t really call myself broke. It might not be comfortable, but it’s survivable for me.

And that’s the thing about money—perspective is everything. What looks like “small change” to one person might feel like a “big relief” to another. I think a lot of it depends on your lifestyle, your priorities, and how you view money in general. Some people need a lot to feel secure, while others just need to know the basics are covered. Personally, I fall into the second category. I don’t need to have plenty before I feel okay; I just need to know that I can meet the essentials. Once that’s settled, I can find a way to manage the rest.

At the end of the day, being broke is really relative. For some people, it’s when their account drops below a set number. But for someone like me, it’s when survival starts to get shaky. So I don’t look at it as just a balance issue—I look at it as a need issue. If I can’t meet my needs, then I’m broke. If I still can, then I’ll keep pushing, no matter how “small” the money looks.

Thanks for reading.