When is the right time to say, 'I'm broke'?

‘I’m Broke!’

We often hear people say, ‘I’m broke’ when they have no money. The issue is: when is the right time to say, ‘I’m broke?’ Before I give the different scenarios where people say, ‘I’m broke,’ let’s find out the dictionary meaning of the word ‘broke’. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (7th Edition) defines the word broke as ‘having no money.’ Now:

Scenario 1: I’m broke. I meant I have no money at all. No money in the house. No money on me. No money in the bank. My bank account has reached its nadir (i.e. zero, no ‘chin chin’); account is reading: ‘danger’ (red).

Scenario 2: I’m broke. I meant I have no money on me or in the house but my account is loaded. Just that I don’t want to touch or spend the money in the account. It’s my savings. That is to say, ‘I’m broke’ but I have 1 million in my account. (Hope u understand, na example I give o, nor be reality; to avoid stories that touch.)

Scenario 3: I’m broke. I meant I have no money in hand. I have money in a fixed deposit account and I can’t touch it even if I want to.

Scenario 4: I’m broke. I have no money on me, that is no money in my wallet or pocket or bag but I have some dollars stashed somewhere in the house (under the bed, under the house, etc) for insurance or emergencies.

Scenario 5: I’m broke. It does not mean I don’t have money to use. Just that I've reached my baseline or I’m approaching my baseline. My baseline may be 5K or 10K or 20K or 100K or 1 million or above.

Scenario 6: I’m broke. I have money to spend but I don’t have any money to share. Let’s say a friend asked you for money and you say, ‘I’m broke,’ it simply means that you have money for your own personal needs but none to give out.

Scenario 7: I’m broke. I have some money for my personal needs but no money to ‘groove’. No money for ‘jolly-jolly.’ No money to paint the town red. No money to take friends out.

There may be others. But the question is: from your heart of heart, in which of the above scenarios could we truly say ‘I’m broke?’ A penny for your thought, please!

I posed this question on Facebook some months back. Here are the responses are I got:

K.O I seriously think the first scenario! if one is broke, it truly means no money anywhere at all. my own opinion sha!

G. P I agree wt Kay.Shd b d rt thng, but most times we refer t Scns 5-7, esp wen som1 nids our help fnancialy or wen peopl r around. Pretenc, Pity or both. Am also guilty.....'wink'. 'Bankrupt'.....

E. R 4rm my hrt of hrt,scenario 1 is more apt as it justifies d true meaning of bein broke...my opinion anyway.