Have you ever heard about fuck you money? This clip below describes it pretty well.
Well it turns out that even though I have not reached financial independence yet, I consider myself wealthy enough to not put up with bullshit at my workplace when I don’t want to.
Long story short, I have a new job!
Pros
- Same field of work but much less workload
- Closer to home by about 40 minutes (big win)
Cons
- About $12k less money
- Risk not liking new environment
We went through a ‘restructure’ at work and I didn’t agree with about 90% of it. Management in a nut shell told the entire department that we will do as we are told and there’s nothing we can do about it… Annnnnnnd this is where that fuck you money comes into play.
I’m going from a tad over $100K to just under $90K which is still good money. I was shocked to hear though that many of my colleagues did not have the same luxury of taking a $10k pay cut because they had mortgages to pay with the repayments calculated on the maximum amount their salary would allow…
They were trapped in this high paying (by country standards) job that was trying to screw them over because they owed so much money to the banks. I loved my job for 5 years. The last 6 months stunk as I tried to get over the bad patch. But the restructure was the final straw. I’m not going to work somewhere that treats me like that and do a job I’m not going to enjoy.
I was very fortunate that a great opportunity aroused so I took it.
Moral of the story: don’t be a slave to debt!
Have enough fuck you money because you may like your job now, but if things change and they start trying to make you do stuff you don’t want to do… You can tell em ‘Fuck you!
Although I didn’t get a redundancy package. I was paid out on my annual leave and RDOs. I transfer my long service to my new job which was nice. I got screwed hard in tax but there was nothing I could do about it. I received a lump sum of around $14K after tax which was the big boost this month. I put the majority of that payout into ETFs.
I have actually been in my new job for a few weeks already and am loving the change.
It’s funny, everyone seems to think that it’s all about money when it comes to me because I’m a notorious tight ass. But it couldn’t be further from the truth. I value the freedom money can give you not the money itself. This job change is the perfect example. I gave up $12K salary to be more happy and knew that I was in a strong position to do so. How many people do you know would give up $12K because they weren’t happy with their job??? My journey towards FIRE is about escaping the 9-5 grind not about being the richest man in the graveyard.
Net Worth Update
My payout nearly all went into ETFs which put us up to about $64K worth of ETFs. Which isn’t bad considering we started to buy ETFs in October last year. We have said that we want to get to $100K worth of ETFs and then reassess what we are going to do from there. Will we continue to buy ETFs or go back to property…or maybe something else entirely? I have always wanted to have a crack at a business…we’ll see.
The other bump this month came from my Super being updated. We didn’t save that much money this month.
Properties
No change in any of the properties for this month.
*DISCLAIMER*
Various data sources (RP data, Domain.com etc.) are used in combination of what similar surrounding properties were sold for to calculate an estimate. This is an official Commonwealth bank estimate and one which they use to approve loans.
ETFs
ETFs were the main benificary of the payout with close about $16K going into VAS/VEU. Below is our allocations (hover over to see $$$ figures)
Networth
Why did you invest with VEU instead of VGS?
I’m assuming you mean why do I invest with VEU/VTS instead of just VGS?
A few reasons:
– Lower management fees
– Greater diversification
– Exposure to emerging markets
– Access to US small caps
– It’s unhedged against the Australia dollar
The difference between the two ETFs is minimal but there has been analysis done with the VTS/VEU being the better option perfomance wise (soruce:http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2449117).
Yay Aussie FIREbug! Good on you for building a position where you weren’t trapped. We spend so much time at work, that when it is shit, it effects your whole life. Also, the pay cut isn’t a full $12,000, because saving nearly an hour and a half a day on travel has a monetary value in itself.
True.
Yeah the effects were so much greater than what an extra $12K is to me. Couldn’t imagine what it must be like to be stuck with no options. It would make working twice as hard.
Bravo! I pulled a similar stunt about 9months ago accepting a full time 70k job over a 9month 85k contract (with all the full time benefits). I didn’t realise at the time I was employing a ‘Fuck you’ approach. I just remember that the place I worked (offering me the 85k contract) was busily firing 60% of my department and wanted me to do my job AND my bosses job, for a third of our combined salaries.
Ran away from that train-wreck as fast as my little legs could take me. I weighed up all the pros and cons and the money was not worth the drama.
Amen LadyFIRE!
Congratulations! I had a similar experience about 9 years ago, where a cushion allowed me to make a different choice and try out a new opportunity that gave me lots of exposure to smart people and challenging work. It was worth it.
Good job on your podcasts too, I recently made my way through a few of them!
Imagine the stress of the people in your old job who are unable to take a pay cut for better quality of life. They’re actually prisoners to the banks. That kind of stress would overflow into other areas of their life.
The pay cut you did take wouldn’t be that bad when you think about it after tax I’m sure.
Have you seen the Jim Collins version of that clip?
https://youtu.be/eikbQPldhPY
I hadn’t seen that version before. It’s great!
You’re right about after tax not making it so bad.