The joy of FU money

bluenose1

I have been debating about when to leave for a while as found it difficult to decided how much is enough. I work with a lovely group and that is probably why I have lasted so long.                        

However we recently had someone new start, whom I have to work closely with and he is driving me mad. A toxic person who slags everyone off, makes stupid mistakes and tries to deflect the blame etc etc,  stupidly giving me sleepless nights and exacerbating my anxiety etc.

Although I could just walk now and be really FU, I am far too civil to do that, as feel like would leave the group in the lurch, so going to work my full notice. I suppose it is more “ F**k this” as oppposed to “F**k U” 

Maybe this person has done me a favour as I have been struggling with One More Year syndrome for a couple of years. Even if they left themselves I wouldn’t change my mind. Looking forward to doing what I want to do rather than sat at my desk all week.

So even if you enjoy work, you never know what is going to happen in the future to change your work environment and desire to work, definitely a joy to have FU money. 

SVaz

Yes,  although my FU money only came by way of my Dad dying, so not without huge cost.
It enabled me to stop working for corporate idiots (who know nothing about engineering in a factory setting) and  become my own self employed idiot 😉  
 I work around 4/5 hours a day now, usually done by 2pm,  no weekends and I know I can retire at any point from 2026 as I’m shovelling money into mine and my Wife’s pensions and savings.  

The people I do jobs for now are genuinely pleased to see me and I’m no longer a whipping boy for the suits who want production at all costs, even though that means catastrophic failures of equipment costing millions instead of small amounts of planned downtime.  

I was at breaking point when I walked away in January 2022 - the joy it gave me when my I saw the look on my old boss’s face when he spotted me in my liveried Van a few weeks ago was indescribable.   My Dad will be pleased with what I did.  

Flugelhorn

FU money is so crucial - we were fortunate in being to live off one salary so both (at different times) left our ghastly jobs with nothing else lined up. In my case I worked PT for a few years, DH just decided enough was enough. 

Universidad

I have never felt better in my adult working life than when I came into some money, and realised what freedom it could buy me. 

Work had been pretty rough for a while, and one day in a meeting I realised that I was one push away from quitting on the spot. But somehow having that extra security gave me not just the ability to leave, but confidence I didn't previously have to rock the boat as an alternative. 

So instead of quitting outright, I started saying "no" to unreasonable demands.

And the thing is - trust me - I was not lacking assertiveness prior to this. But I hadn't previously been someone who would say, bluntly, "No, I don't want to do this, and I don't see how it would be good for my career".

It is amazing how people react to that. Disbelief, most commonly.

And when people act with disbelief, the natural human reaction is to question yourself, and to worry about if you are in the wrong. But when you realise that you literally don't care either way, it is so liberating.

I got a lot of pushback, several people became really quite angry. I was told that I "couldn't do that".

But it turns out that you totally can do that, if nobody ever stops you. 

People said to me "you know, you have to do what your employer ask of you, some of the time you won't like it".

And I realised, you absolutely don't have to do whatever your employer asks of you. They are, of course, free to let you go if they're not happy with that. But if you don't care about being let go, well then, good luck to them.

By the time I did eventually leave, it was because wage and pension supression meant that I couldn't really afford to stay. All that "!!!!!! you" money I had was mostly accounted for - not "gone", but not readily accessible - by the time that I handed in my notice.

But I have never forgotten the sense of empowerment of knowing I could walk out of the door. I still let myself be steered by that sense of freedom, even if it would be less convenient to be let go at this point in my life.

I would say that money can't buy that feeling, but that would kind of defeat the point. It totally can.

QrizB

I had a colleague who was old enough to claim his DB pension.

If anyone asked how much longer he planned to work, he'd reply that he was "three bad days away from retirement".

Eventually he had his three bad days!

Johnnyy_Boy

Sorry for being a little dim but what does FU money mean ?

QrizB

Johnnyy_Boy said:

Sorry for being a little dim but what does FU money mean ?

Havine enough saved/invested/inherited that, at least in principle, you could afford a tolerable lifestyle without working.

Once you get to that stage, you're not working to live; you're working to live *better*, and have the reassurance that (if work turns for the worse, or you have other life events that mean you can't work anymore) you can stop whenever you wish.

I think I'm mostly there; I could stop work tomorrow and there's a good chance we'd have £25k a year as a household, until we both die. I'm (mostly) still working for my kids' benefit, and to get that £25k closer to £30k.

Albermarle

Johnnyy_Boy said:

Sorry for being a little dim but what does FU money mean ?

When I was working my OH called it my 'mad money' which is bit more polite !

It meant that if work got too stressful, I was financially comfortable enough to walk.
Although I might not have been able to retire until later years, I could still have lived OK without a job for quite a while, due to significant savings and no mortgage.

michaels

QrizB said:

Johnnyy_Boy said:

Sorry for being a little dim but what does FU money mean ?

Havine enough saved/invested/inherited that, at least in principle, you could afford a tolerable lifestyle without working.

Once you get to that stage, you're not working to live; you're working to live *better*, and have the reassurance that (if work turns for the worse, or you have other life events that mean you can't work anymore) you can stop whenever you wish.

I think I'm mostly there; I could stop work tomorrow and there's a good chance we'd have £25k a year as a household, until we both die. I'm (mostly) still working for my kids' benefit, and to get that £25k closer to £30k.

So I guess I am not the only one who keeps a running tally of 'If I never went back to work how much would I have to live on per year'.

It is not ideal as I then split any income mentally over 'the rest of my life' - so work a year, earn 40k, = £80 per month for the rest of my life......

Sea_Shell

Having enough money behind you really is liberating in the workplace.

You can work on your terms, and if you are also confident that you're good at your job, you get to call the shots (to a certain extent).

Been there, done that, got the t-shirt 🤑

My final straw (well one of them) was not being able to book time off when I wanted.

I'll just take 365 days unpaid leave then 🤣. Adiós.


Good on you Bluenose 🏆🎉

barnstar2077

I am told I am difficult at work.  Which really just means that I won't accept everything the company tell me as gospel and non negotiable.

I once had an hour long disciplinary meeting where I refused to accept the outcome from the company, as it was completely unjust.  I told them it wasn't fair and I would take it all the way to the top of the company if I had to.  They then tried reducing the consequences for me, but I told them they were wrong and I wouldn't accept anything other than we just forget about it completely.  They had another discussion amongst themselves and agreed to drop the whole thing.  Madness.  I know plenty of people who would have just said sorry, even if they didn't do anything wrong, just to get out of the room.

I will achieve financial independence in a few years (being able to pay my household bills, but no extra spending money.)   At that point I will just be working for my own benefit, and it can't come a day too soon!! :  )