Every two weeks, we make (what I consider to be) a significant step towards Financial Independence. It may not look like all the much now (approximately $1,500) but with some super sexy compounding over the next 20, 30, 40 or even 50 years it will turn into a beastly sum. With the ultimate goal of leaving the corporate world, our nest egg is pretty much a giant FU Fund With the middle finger primarily pointed at all things associated with traditional work.
If you are not familiar with the term FU Fund – here is a solid definition from Lifehacker:
“any amount of money allowing infinite perpetuation of wealth necessary to maintain a desired lifestyle without needing employment or assistance from anyone.”
Every time I hear someone say “Blue Sky” or “Cross-Departmental Collaboration” my eyes glaze over and I imagine a place where people don’t feel the need to say things that don’t mean anything. I wish we could implement a douche bag jar like the one on New Girl and rid the world of these lines.
With a few small tweaks, I present the Corporate DoucheBag Jar!
Talk less, get more done.
Yes, it’s a bit ironic that the corporate culture that is slowly driving me crazy is the primary fuel in our plan to leave. But that is part of being an income sell-out and working for the paycheck instead of passion. #TradeOffs (Working on my Millennial Skills, that means lots of #)
Is my FU Fund Ruining my Work Ethic?
Over the last 3-4 months, I have felt a shift in my attitude and I was a little uneasy with the changes initially. It goes against some of my philosophies. Primarily, focusing on increasing income, which is usually associated with “working hard” and making da boss happy.
Pushing the Work/Life Balance further
I don’t work harder than I have to.
Our daughter and everything that comes with being a parent pushed me to drop the amount of Work and increase the amount Life over the last few months. I value time with the family above all else and it shows.
I don’t feel the need to be present beyond my normal workday anymore, and even cut out early some days to pick up my daughter early. One of the benefits of being a salaried employee, if my projects are tracking successfully, I don’t have much to worry about. My boss doesn’t keep track of my hours and trusts that I am getting the job done.
Building up trust with my boss, team, and customers is paying dividends
Menial Tasks Have Fallen to the Wayside
I am halfway through the book 4 Hour Work Week and am putting some of its theories into practice.
Basically, if I wouldn’t write it on my accomplishments at the end of the year, I don’t do it. Do less of it. Or question the value it is providing. I also stopped attending meetings that aren’t a fruitful use of my time.
I stopped volunteering to do things I don’t think will make measurable impacts. My time is spent contributing directly to the success of my projects and everything else is fading in the rearview mirror.
Being busy doesn’t equal productivity, focus on measurable impacts
“Check’s Clearing”
I have uttered this phrase a few times in the past 6 months referring to my paycheck.
I used to take differing opinions or crappy assignments personally but lately have accepted some outcomes that I wouldn’t have let go so easily in the past.
If something is particularly frustrating, I take a few seconds and realize that I am trading my time for money. If they think I should make over $40 an hour to do something we can easily assign to our India team….. who am I to argue with Senior Directors….. no matter how little sense it makes.
I find this attitude works really well when surrounded by negativity. When I find my self in a corporate bitch fest, I remind the group that payday is coming. Checks make dealing with it easier.
The check’s clearing and we will be $1,500 richer next time it does.
Embracing the “Contract Year”
For anyone not familiar with the term:
“Term used in North American sports to describe the occurrence when athletes perform at a very high level in the season prior to their free agency eligibility. Most often, these athletes have seasons that are statistically better than previous years, but then once they sign their new contract, they return to their previous level of performance” – Wikipedia
Why shouldn’t the average person get to benefit from the contract year?!?! It shouldn’t just be the people making millions that get to slack off a bit after a promotion or raise!*
I work harder when there are reviews, bonuses, and promotions on the table. Not sure how this will land with the crowd, but since my reward is financial and not personally motivating, it’s about the cash.
The attitude towards my blog is completely different, it is a personal passion project that I enjoy putting thought and time into. It takes some skill to balance a full-time job, a 4-month-old and a side project. My goal is to keep sinking more time here as I spend less time selling out :). So you could say my work ethic is shifting, not necessarily deteriorating?
*Sorry doctors, EMTs, firefighters, and police officers…….. FU Fund or not……. we would prefer you to perform like a champ every day of every year 🙂
So, Why is our FU Fund shifting our attitude?
Pretty simple, our debt is dropping and our nest egg is growing. Our FU Fund is taking form. It is still a long way from being the size it needs to be for a final FU jump. But it does have enough to take the fear out of being fired or laid off.
If we were living paycheck to paycheck, I wouldn’t be as bold as I have been lately. Living within our means is giving us choices. Choices we wouldn’t have if we couldn’t survive for 2 weeks after our cash flow was cut.
As long as we can continue our income growth by working on the right things and being productive instead of busy, I am 100% ok with continuing to shift our balance. If we slip in the income department, we will revisit. Thus far I am enjoying caring a little less. I want every person I know and whoever reads this blog to have the exact same choice.
Choices = Freedom
Anyone else feeling something similar? Have you started your FU Fund?
Until your nest egg is enough to focus the bird beam square into your employers’ gaze, be careful not to slack to much that you become the focus of the next RIF.
As always, I suggest moderation, as in all things. Maybe you don’t kill yourself for the elusive “reward” that seldom comes, unless paired with the disproportionate “increase in responsibility”, but be sure not to kill that golden goose that’s funding your shift in attitude, lest you end up draining that egg while job searching.
Thanks for the advice Happy Camper, I have a very open/direct relationship with my boss and if she has any concerns she won’t hold them back and I can adjust (I don’t think it will ever that however)
Appreciate the comment
This exact thing happened to me when we became debt free. I started to speak my mind more at work and cared less about what they thought. Luckily for me that was what they were looking for.
We kid number 2 fresh into the world I am noticing not wanting to be at work. I didn’t realize it until I read it but I’ve been evaluating the tasks to pick up on whether or not they are worth it or a meaningless task another could do.
I can’t wait for Friday to see the 401k bump! We are about to hit a milestone 🤣
Nice! knocking down milestones always feels good, glad I am not the only one feeling this way
Very interesting… I think I have had some of the sentiments above, especially after welcoming our son 2 years ago. While there are still the occasional late nights or crazy projects, I find myself more adamant about keeping work within work hours and allowing myself to be off the clock and with my family (vs. constantly on the hamster wheel day in and day out!).
It doesn’t help that I’ve started watching Mr. Robot, but it’s a constant internal struggle. I choose to wear the mask of corporate drone for just a little longer… but I’m “in it, but not of it” for just a while longer. As the meme’s say: “Soon”
Mrs AR – I have stopped checking emails and chats once I leave work (95% of the time at least) As soon as I walk out of that door its my time – not theirs
Appreciate the comment
What a fantastic post!
I struggled with this feeling a lot prior to taking a year off, and I’ve been noticing that the same feeling again lately. I honesty get extremely frustrated with all the contradictions and all the meaningless talk of the corporate office. All the pointless jargon and time wasting meetings really irritate me. By the end of the week, I hardly want to be around anyone anymore.
This line – “If something is particularly frustrating, I take a few seconds and realize that I am trading my time for money.”
That’s literally the only mentality I can take to push myself through. Even though I’m a long way away from FI, every payday gets me a little bit closer to escaping.
It’s great that your focus is shifting more towards your family and passion for your blog. I need to improve at turning the frustration from the day job into motivation to work more on the blog.
Thanks again for sharing the excellent post! It’s good to know that other people are struggling with the same thing. 🙂
Thanks Graham, I appreciate the comment and the sharing of a similar sentiment. I need to get my ass in gear and start making this blog a bigger focus (along with some passive income 🙂 )
Every 2 weeks and every raise makes me happier
Not busting your ass for the same salary you’d get for getting the job done well enough is totally fine with me. I went through a phase when I worked more regularly for a University of developing amazing content for other staff, when very good content would more than suffice. The first took work days + evenings + weekends to achieve whilst the latter could be finished work days only with comfort. My income was the same regardless but the amount of life I lived totally changed.
Finding that balance is crucial – it’s kind of funny that most promotions or raises are from being on the right projects or standing up for yourself and getting what you deserve, not necessarily being the “hardest worker”
This sounds bad, but I also find myself doing the bare minimum at times. I have something of an FU fund, but not really, since we’re using it to pay off debt instead of investing. But just knowing that we could get by without my paycheck is enough for me to say, “Yeah, I’m not putting up with y’all’s crap.”
Wahoo! Another person that has a choice due to being smart with their money, and they say being frugal causes you to miss out on life
Add me to the list of sharing the same sentiment, especially after having our first child. Now, with two, that sentiment is in full force.
I can only imagine what two is like at this point, getting one to bed feels like a small miracle every once in awhile.
I don’t have kids, but each day my level of caring goes down at work. My manager and I had a meeting and he asked about my career goals. He wants to see me succeed and grow with the company and I just want to coast until I’m FI. He suggested I maneuver into a position where I could work remotely from home, which admittedly would go a long way towards keeping me in the company.
Did you actually say that to him? My approach is to just act like I see myself staying with my company forever, even though I don’t. Maybe I should more honest.
I still go full tilt at work, but my financial situation means these days I’m not available off work hours. That changed when I realized my nest egg is big enough there are at least theoretical ways I’m already Fi. Before that I was the workaholic that never turned off.
Glad to hear you made an adjustment, people who continue to work that hard after having all the money they will ever need confuse me.
Family above all else! Good man. My husband continues to pump in full days and more because we don’t have a nugget yet. I pretty much remember what he looks like but I would like the kid to as well so we’ll hunker down and stack the bills until then.
I do what I can
Nothing wrong with waiting until you can afford it to have a kid, not having to worry about how to pay for things makes a child easier
I dream of the day when I CAN have more of an FU mindset while working. I have a countdown (to the day) of when I don’t have to care so much anymore! And right now, every time I go to make a stupid purchase on something completely unnecessary I think to myself, “NO! If you do this it’s just letting the company win by sucking up more of your life since you’ll be further away from Financial Independence to pay for this. Drop it NOW!” Love reading your blog! It helps keep me on track too!
Love it
Thank you for the comment and kind words! Happy to help someone else stay on track
Choices are so much better than things
I also have noticed my work ethic has slipped since I got majorly invested into the FI movement. I’m no longer working to reach the top of some imaginary ladder that will take me 30 years to get to, when I can be retired in 10 years. I typically only work as hard as I need to to surpass my co-workers productivity, which admittedly is pretty low (government job), but I continue to ratchet up my savings rate to get out of the game as soon as I can.
haha – why work harder than you have to – and it’s not just the gov with low productivity employees. We have our fair share as well.
This post is going to ring loud and true with the FIRE community. I’ve struggled with these feelings for the past 18 months or so. It’s actually grown to be a problem that I’m having a hard time shaking off. Once you stop caring, it’s difficult to get back to a place where you do care.
Yea, I have a feeling my caring level it will continue to fade, hopefully slow enough for our nest egg to explode 🙂
Suppose I should get my ass in gear on my long term goals so I can move away voluntarily
Having FU money is more important than ever these days, especially if you work in corporate america. The higher up’s will control your life with BS corporate policies, deadlines etc. that are almost undoable and it can be stressful. How long are you gonna take it for the paycheck? Having FU money certainly gives you choices sooner than later. You wouldn’t want to be in a position to have to put up with that crap until you’re 60+.
No way I would make it to 60, or even 50 at this rate. Glad I discovered the FIRE mindset in my 20s. It saved me from many years of mandatory work.
Work isn’t everything, and I think that if you had to focus on one specific aspect of your life to optimize, your job is by far the best option. It doesn’t sound like you are phoning it in.
Not phoning it in (well maybe a little on WFH days 🙂 )
You might want to change job to something more interesting. This is a slippery slope. I was at the same spot and I kept caring less and less about work. This made the last few years of employment a lot more difficult. Anyway, I hope you can balance it better than I did. Good luck!
Thanks for the advice Joe, I have read about your departure on your site and appreciate the experience you share.
Hopefully, we can find a balance or something completely different to pay the bills
I go back and forth with what I want out of my job all the time.
On one hand I’ve got plenty of down time at work right now. I’m being paid more than I ever have, and the job is cushy…but I know it won’t last forever, particularly because I’m a contractor.
On the other hand, I feel like my time is being wasted. Yes I’m getting paid, and yes it’s too much for my output, but I really DO enjoy work I find engaging and challenging. This isn’t it.
I will pursue other opportunities when my contract is up, but I’m at a point where I need to ask myself what do I want?
Do I want the cushy, easy, decent-paying job where I can slack?
OR
Do I want the challenging, engaging, huge opportunity job that’ll demand more from me mentally and emotionally?
I am still torn.
Funny, your post covers a lot of my recent thoughts. I recently hit a modest FI milestone as well. Since that time, I have become less engaged at work,
more defiant and less willing to tolerate B.S. It’s interesting how our psyche changed when we are no longer in financial fear.
Keep up the good work. FU will be here before you know it.
Good post. I remember during the dot com boom, seeing a LOT of subway ads here in NYC, that touted building “FU Money”. Mainly through new online brokerage accounts like E-trade. Then the market crashed, and people stopped talking so much about that. My take is from a slightly older guy’s view, (50) but I totally get it and can relate. Our big thing was pushing for a 10 yr mortgage in 2001. Ever since that mortgage has been paid off, I’ve probably been “under employed”, by choice. I recommend starting something yourself, looking into a turnkey business or franchise or (at some point) something else that you really love, even if it means slightly less money. Like a successful consultant friend reminds me sometimes….”One way or another…everyone has a boss.”
Money = options. Life is different after you reach FI or even have a few years of living expenses saved up. For me, if the job stops being enjoyable I will get a new one. I work smarter rather than harder. I heard a song on the radio and it was about working your fingers to the bone just gives you boney fingers.
Great article! So many parallels to my job. I can’t stand all the meaningless corporate jargon from people who clearly only want to sound like they know what they’re talking about (including me sometimes! Gah! I just want to punch myself in the face as soon as I say it). A lot of times these are the same people who feel the need to look “busy” all the time without really being “productive”. In fact, they may actually needlessly and accidentally throw a wrench into an otherwise smooth-running project because of their over-busyness. I like my job, but this stuff wears me down. That said, “check’s clearing”…
I love this! I started my “F.U.” fund this year (less than <10K in it haha) and have noticed a similar shift in attitude. Just opening an account has helped me deprioritize work, which I personally think is a good thing.
Choices absolutely equals freedom 🙂
Well it happened to me too. I was FI two years before leaving my job. Those last two years felt like a drag, l only wanted to do things that were meaningful. Didn’t care about Corporate BS or took crap from anyone, including bosses.
Hardest part is to hold on to the job when you know you can walk away anytime.
It happened to me when we bought our second home. Once I realized we could move to that home and never work again, I lost some focus on my job. Unfortunately my boss noticed as well and we chatted about it during my review.
I then thought about what I wanted my legacy to be. I worked to improve systems and processes and to document the processes we had in place. I focused on training my heir apparent so she could be successful when I did decide to leave. All this looked like renewed focus on the job but it was more rewarding because I was creating my legacy. Six years later, when we could keep both homes without working, it was time to leave.
If you’re struggling with work, I’d think about how you can build in goals that help your company but also feed your soul.
Very interesting read! I like the idea of “Menial Tasks Have Fallen to the Wayside”. This way it allows you to focus so much more on things that really matter and things that push you towards your goal. And choices definitely equates to freedom!
This might be a surprise to some. But I feel the same with the good enough sentiment…. And I am the boss. I am looking forward to the sale of my first business so I can put all my efforts into my new venture.
Nice post and I hear you. I switched jobs and moved across country for better pay and better work life balance. So far so good and there is nothing wrong with doing a job for income. 99.9 percent of people do and if they tell you they don’t they are full of it.