Over at The Billfold, writer Paulette Perhach introduces the concept of a “fuck off fund” — a fun and ultimately more rewarding way of referring to a savings account, but with a purpose that’s much more defined. Starting a savings account and contributing to it on the regular is a nice way of insuring some sense of financial solvency, real or imagined. A fuck off fund is a tangible salve against the inevitable curveballs life will throw your way. “Whether the system protects you or fails you,” she writes, “you will be able to take care of yourself.”
Think of all the things you could do if only you had the money. Do you not think about this already, every day? Do you not already sit at your desk tabulating careful columns of numbers in a tab hidden behind your work email, seeing how much money you can save without going broke? When shit hits the fan and your first impulse is to run and leave your job, your relationship, your apartment or your life, just for a moment, nothing is more sobering than realizing that you have $150 until payday and nothing to fall back on.
A savings account is a great thing to have, but a fuck-off fund is crucial. Save money for a vacation, sure, but also save enough money to survive should you need to remove yourself swiftly from your relationship, your job or your apartment. Financial independence is difficult to achieve and it takes real work, but remember this: money is freedom that has yet to realize its potential.
[The Billfold]Original by Megan Reynolds @mega_hurt
