Comments on: Talking About Being Cash Poor

By: selenana

selenana — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 14:26:43 +0000

@tuntastic If you’re logged in, you should see a “settings” link under the comment box. Click it and it will lead to your profile and you can upload a pic/avatar there! :)

By: tuntastic

tuntastic — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 00:44:14 +0000

@selenana I don’t know how :( :( :(

By: Kara M & Lisa L@twitter

Kara M & Lisa L@twitter — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 19:17:32 +0000

I always feel guilty about saying no, because the truth is, if it’s something I REALLY want to do, I’ll find the cash (because, duh, I’ve heard of Visa!), but I will say no on account of low funds when it’s a person or activity I’m not interested in. But then I think that the friends I say no to will see my check in at X Fancy Restaurant on Facebook and think “Well, she must just not like me!” and then they’ll stop inviting me out. Hmmm… I guess that’s not so bad.
Moral of the story: People I don’t like with shitty plans – stop asking me to hang out, I’m poor.

By: polka dots vs stripes

polka dots vs stripes — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 20:02:58 +0000

@spectacularisms I often talk about my household being on an austerity plan, and could we reschedule to next week when our funds are replenished?

By: polka dots vs stripes

polka dots vs stripes — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 20:00:02 +0000

@sunflowernut Yeah they have moved “far” (about 90 minutes-two hours away) and we have no plans to ever see them again.

By: sunflowernut

sunflowernut — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 19:52:51 +0000

@polka dots vs stripes I mean, after a certain point those people aren’t even friends. If they just make you feel bad all the time, they aren’t acting like friends, at least.

By: smack

smack — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 16:55:39 +0000

If I’m broke or whatever, I don’t mention “oh I have no money” since it DOES come off as either “cover me” or martyrish/judgey so I just say “oh sorry, we’ve got plans. Maybe next week?”

I’m not sure why disclosing your financial state is necessary.

By: Megano!

Megano! — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 15:34:17 +0000

I avoid this issue by having friends who have about the same amount of money as I do.

By: 221b

221b — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 13:34:21 +0000

This article is perfectly timed for me – after putting a chunk of money in savings (and then budgeting badly with the remainder), I’m down to nearly no money, and have spent… £2 in the last week. It’s been challenging and horrible and also weirdly fun, in a self-denying kind of way. Historically, I am appalling with money, so I’m trying to learn new habits (bring a packed lunch to work, have drinks at home instead of out, etc.)

The hardest part has been acknowledging that I can’t go along to all my friends’ meetups and try to do them cheaply – I have to actively turn them down. I live in London, and my friends are scattered all over the city, so we all have to travel to meet up. This means we have fallen into the habit of meeting up for dinner on a weekly (or more, oh god, so untenable) basis, just because, well, when else will we eat?! After a couple of attempts – either not eating (so terrible), or ordering the cheapest thing on the menu (depressing, not actually that cheap) – I’ve realised that trying to make it work on a shoestring is waaay more stressful than politely saying, “sorry guys, maybe next time?”

The dumb thing is, none of us can really afford the lifestyle we’ve become used to – and I think if ALL OF US practised doing things on the cheap, we’d all be a lot happier/more relaxed about money. Instead, we have developed a complex system of borrowing/lending/sharing/panicking. I used to tease my boyfriend for being a penny-pincher – nope, actually, he’s just super-good with money. Sooo much humble pie to eat.

By: selenana

selenana — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 02:54:56 +0000

@tuntastic @Mike Dang Says the person with no face on their avatar!