Why You Always Feel Skint (Even Though You Earn Decent Money)

Rachel Minns
Dec 11, 2025
5 min read

You're not imagining it.

That feeling of never having enough, even though you're earning more than you used to. The constant low-level anxiety every time you check your bank balance.

The guilt when you spend money on yourself, followed by the confusion when you realise you don't actually know what you spent it on.

You're not reckless. You're not living beyond your means. You're not buying designer handbags or booking spontaneous trips to the Maldives.

Yet somehow, the money that should be there... isn't.

And you're left wondering what's wrong with you.

Here's what I need you to know: Nothing is wrong with you.

But something is wrong with how you're managing your money. And it's not your fault that nobody ever taught you how to fix it.

The Real Reason You Feel Broke

Most people think they feel skint because they don't earn enough.

So they work harder. Take on extra hours. Side hustle themselves into exhaustion. And still, the feeling doesn't go away.

Because the problem isn't your income. It's that your money is disappearing faster than you can track it.

Here's what's really happening:

You earn £2,500 a month (or £3,000, or £4,000 - the number doesn't matter as much as you think).

Your bills take £1,200. That bit you know about.

But then there's the rest. The daily coffees. The "just a few bits" shops. The subscriptions you forgot about. The impulse Amazon purchase at 11pm. The takeaway because you couldn't face cooking.

By the time you reach the end of the month, you've spent £2,400. You've got £100 left. And you have absolutely no idea where £1,200 of it went.

That's not a you problem. That's a system problem.

You don't have a spending problem. You have a visibility problem.

Why Traditional Advice Doesn't Work

Every money "expert" tells you the same thing:

"Just spend less." "Make a budget and stick to it." "Cut out the little luxuries." "Stop buying coffee."

So you try. You promise yourself you'll be more careful. You feel guilty every time you spend. You white-knuckle your way through the month, feeling deprived and resentful.

And it lasts about two weeks before you crack and think, "Sod it, I work hard, I deserve this coffee."

Then you feel like a failure. Again.

Here's why that advice doesn't work: Restriction without awareness is just punishment.

You can't "just spend less" when you don't actually know what you're spending.

You can't cut back on things when you're not consciously choosing them in the first place.

You can't fix a problem you can't see.

What Actually Changes Things

The shift isn't about spending less. It's about seeing more.

When you can actually see where your money goes, really see it, not just glance at your balance and hope, everything changes.

Not because you suddenly become perfect with money. Not because you never spend on anything fun. Not because you turn into some boring person who tracks every penny and never treats themselves.

But because conscious spending feels completely different to unconscious spending.

Unconscious spending leaves you feeling:

Stressed every time you check your bank account
Guilty when you buy something you want
Confused about where your money went
Like you're failing at something everyone else seems to manage
Trapped in a cycle you can't escape

Conscious spending makes you feel:

Calm when you look at your finances
Confident in your decisions
Clear about where every pound is going
In control of what happens next
Like you're finally getting somewhere

Same money. Completely different experience.

The Hidden Money Nobody Tells You About

Here's something most people don't realise: you're already spending money on things you don't actually want.

Not big, obvious things. Small, forgettable things that slip past without you noticing.

The coffee you actively dislike but buy out of habit. The subscription you forgot you were paying for. The "just a few bits" shop that costs £35 when you only needed milk.

I've worked with hundreds of women who've found between £100 and £380 a month of hidden money. Money they were already spending, just not on anything they cared about.

That's not money you need to earn. It's money you're already earning and then accidentally throwing away.

Why You're Not Alone in This

Every woman I work with tells me the same thing when we first start: "I should know this. I should be better at this. I should have figured this out by now."

And I tell them what I'm telling you: You're not supposed to just know this.

Nobody teaches us about money. Not at school. Not at home. Not anywhere.

We're supposed to magically understand how to manage it, budget it, grow it, and feel confident about it—with absolutely no training whatsoever.

Then we beat ourselves up when we struggle with something we were never taught.

That ends now.

What Visibility Actually Looks Like

When I talk about "seeing your money," I'm not talking about complicated spreadsheets or obsessive tracking of every penny.

I'm talking about being able to answer three simple questions:

Where did my money go last month?
What am I spending on things I don't actually want?
What could I do with that money if I kept it instead?

That's it. That's visibility.

And once you have it, decisions become easy.

Should you book that weekend away? You know immediately, because you can see what's available.

Can you afford those new trainers for the kids? You don't have to guess, because you know exactly what's coming in and going out.

Is that subscription worth keeping? You can see what you're getting for your money and decide if it's actually valuable.

The stress disappears because the unknown disappears.

What Changes When You Find Your Hidden Money

Here's what actually shifts when you stop spending on things you don't want:

You stop saying "we can't afford that" as a default response.

You stop feeling guilty about spending on things you actually enjoy.

You stop avoiding your banking app because you're scared of what you'll see.

You stop having anxiety dreams about money.

You stop arguing with your partner about spending.

You start making plans instead of just hoping things work out.

You start saying yes to things that matter.

You start feeling like you're finally getting somewhere.

And here's the beautiful part: You don't have to earn more to make this happen.

The money's already there. You're already earning it. It's just going to the wrong places.

Your Next Step

If you've read this far and you're thinking, "That's exactly how I feel," I want you to know something:

You can fix this. Not in six months. Not after you "get better with money." Right now.

I've created a free checklist called The Hidden Money Finder that helps you find your hidden money in under an hour.

It walks you through exactly where to look, what to ask yourself, and how to make simple changes that free up money immediately—without feeling deprived or restricted.

Inside, you'll get: