Being 'skint'

I've got a couple of mates that use it as an excuse, and another who is just genuinely skint.
You can tell who is who when you offer to pay
 
Just because someone has money in their account, it doesn't mean they don't have other things to prioritise and pay for first.

I've currently got 1k in my bank account, but I'm still "skint". That's because it's got to last me until the end of the month and during this month I will have to pay for things like my credit card bill, renew car warranty and possibly book flight tickets for a holiday. Just because RIGHT NOW I have 1k, it doesn't mean I'm rich and can spend it on unncessary things.

Some people don't like to be in debt. Some people like to plan ahead and sort out their finances before splashing their money on unnecessary things. Money that has been put into a savings account should STAY in the savings account, otherwise it's pretty pointless when you're taking out a tenner here and there?? Consider the term 'saving' as money spent for the future.
 
I get this as well with certain individuals. Certain individuals that run £50 per month iphone contracts that won't invite us round to eat because they "can't afford to cook for everyone". I threw a party new years eve and the cost was probably £150 worth of food and drink and stuff. I would not bat an eye lid at that despite the little I earn because imo friends and family come first before anything, including nice social times together.

When people keep saying they can't afford to come out but fritter money on things that I deem far less important, this winds me up.
 
If someone says they are 'skint' and I know enough about their financial circumstances to know it's not the case I just take it as their excuse not to go. I guess people are too nice to say why they really don't want to go. If value of friendship is less than cost of socialising then Skint else attend ;)

I know of someone, a friend in the loosest sense who after all his bills and rent is left with just £40 each month. Her spends this on a bottle of JD and a second hand PS3 game. This to me is skint. His own fault though, he should aspire to more than working nights at a supermarket to support his girlfriend and 2 kids.
 
I actually have 18.5k of student loan dept. So I am effectively skint for the next 2 years! (£700/month * 12 + a bit of savings) - leaves £200/month for food and everything not including bills and rent

...However I pay it off as normal and still spare time for friends and family, holidays, stag do's etc. To me a priority is keeping friends and spending valuable time with family, not paying off a loan, saving for a nice car or a new house.

Maybe I will have to get better friends and sack off their events that are costing me £800!
 
Last edited:
An over draught is there for emergencies, not to be used as "free" cash.

It's perfectly feasible to be "skint" despite having money left in your account - some people don't like to live hand to mouth and like to be a bit more careful.

That said, taking some time to see friends (even if just popping round for a cuppa) or even going to the pub for a pint, or grabbing a bite to eat shouldn't have to be expensive. Some people just have different priorities, though I guess it's easier to say "I'm skint" rather than say you're not in the mood?

[TW]Fox;25594069 said:
Becuase they are?! If you are down to your last £100 then 'skint' is accurate and it's time to start economising big time :eek:

Agreed.
 
I would argue people who are talking about having hundreds or thousands of pounds available that they just "don't want to spend" probably have little clue about what being genuinely 'skint' is like.
 
[TW]Fox;25594069 said:
Becuase they are?! If you are down to your last £100 then 'skint' is accurate and it's time to start economising big time :eek:

No 'skint' means having next to nothing, not "I have to budget a bit in the next couple of weeks" that's just being low on cash.
 
Money that has been put into a savings account should STAY in the savings account, otherwise it's pretty pointless when you're taking out a tenner here and there?? Consider the term 'saving' as money spent for the future.

Saving is all well and good, it's admirable when there is a defined target or item that money is being saved for (like a house or car for example). But saving "for a rainy day" or for no other reason than for saving itself is a different animal.

My nan died in her mid-nineties with £30k in her savings account. We told her in her eighties to spend it on herself whilst she could but she refused just saying "they are my savings". And this is the problem, it becomes very easy to be addicted to saving and forgetting the whole point of it.

If anything saving screwed my nan over because when she needed a stair lift she had to dip into her savings to buy one. If she hadn't had so much in savings she'd have got a grant for one.
 
Jealousy because someone decides they want to pay their debts/mortgate of asap and live the easy life very soon is not an attractive quality. Then again, we need more c word spending as much cash as possible to churn the economy round. Your country thanks you for being a profligate consumer.
 
What if something goes wrong that's costly and needs sorting immediately?

Then you become skint after sorting it but not before. By your logic everyone must skint unless they have at least £45k in their bank (the amount being raised my local fundraising for a chap with cancer) because there is no limit to an unexpected cost.

Hence being 'skint' is based on your current finances not future ones, you can't start adding 'possible' unexpected costs in and still claiming your skint.
 
Then you become skint after sorting it but not before. By your logic everyone must skint unless they have at least £45k in their bank (the amount being raised my local fundraising for a chap with cancer) because there is no limit to an unexpected cost.

Hence being 'skint' is based on your current finances not future ones, you can't start adding 'possible' unexpected costs in and still claiming your skint.

Not really sure why planning for unexpected costs can be disregarded so easily.....

Would you rather have 2k in the bank for 'emergencies', have your boiler go on you and be able to repair / replace it with little inconvenience or would you prefer to go on a night out with your last 100quid, your boiler go on you and be up an excrement filled waterway :rolleyes:
 
No 'skint' means having next to nothing, not "I have to budget a bit in the next couple of weeks" that's just being low on cash.

Skint is slang, it has no formal definition. It is generally used to mean you are comparatively a bit short, not that you are formally below the poverty line or something.

It is therefore fairly appropriate for somebody to casually say 'I can't go out this week mate, I'm a bit skint' if they are down to the last £100 I'd have thought?
 
Not really sure why planning for unexpected costs can be disregarded so easily.....

Would you rather have 2k in the bank for 'emergencies', have your boiler go on you and be able to repair / replace it with little inconvenience or would you prefer to go on a night out with your last 100quid, your boiler go on you and be up an excrement filled waterway :rolleyes:

Eh? You are making and knocking down a huge strawman there.

I'm talking about the definition and use of the word skint, you seem to be asking be what financial position I'd rather be in????

I'm not disregarding planning for the future, I'm saying that someone with £2k in a savings account that isn't being saved for s specific and finite reason isn't "skint".
 
Eh? You are making and knocking down a huge strawman there.

I'm talking about the definition and use of the word skint, you seem to be asking be what financial position I'd rather be in????

I'm not disregarding planning for the future, I'm saying that someone with £2k in a savings account that isn't being saved for s specific and finite reason isn't "skint".

You can plan for the future and also be 'skint' at the same time. I've got a cushion in the bank for emergencies but I have found myself 'skint' till i get paid at the end of the month after all my other usual monthly costs because i don't want to delve into my in case of emergency funds which is also part of my current account.
 
Back
Top Bottom