The “F You” Fund
The " F You" Fund is exactly what you think it is. I was trying to figure out another word or phrase for this fund but it has not been created yet.
A few years ago I found myself burned out from working multiple jobs and being involved in too many extracurricular activities. I loved to stay busy and rarely said "no" to a random vacation, event or additional tasks at work.
This eventually caught up to me and I became burned out. I was constantly exhausted and irritated which translated into me not being my best self. I failed to set the right boundaries to incorporate happy things in my life. Once I accepted that I was burned out and needed a recharge, I began to list things that made ME happy.
While creating that list, I made sure I listed everything that brought me some type of happiness or joy. I put a price beside things that cost money such as a vacation and shopping. Warm weather and sand was at the top of that list. I quickly decided that I was going to take a full week off of work approved or not and go on vacation to relax and recharge. A change in scenery is always medicine for me.
I looked at the calendar to see how many paychecks I would need to adjust my budget to make this vacation happen. This began to really frustrate me because I wanted to go on vacation right away and not have to wait until I had the money available. But I decided to wait and avoid putting it all on a credit card which sounded so good at the time because……….patience was not my strong trait.
After saving the full amount for the vacation 6 brutal weeks later, I decided to never wait that long again to do something that makes me happy. This is how my " F you" Fund was created. It was for times where I wanted to randomly buy something, take a mini trip or enjoy a new experience guilt free. It's my way saying " FORGET YOU, IT’S ALL ABOUT ME"
While on vacation, I was able to think clearly about what really caused me to be burned out.
1) My job was understaffed so my work doubled.
2) I was coaching clients after work during the week and weekends. ( no set boundaries)
3) I was working another part-time job in the evenings to meet my savings goals.
4) I was mentoring a student as well as serving on 4 active committees at church.
There was no time for TIERA.
Looking back, I'm trying to figure out how I made it all work and WHY. What was I trying to accomplish?
Why did I neglect my own needs?
I vow to never do that to myself again. Now, I wasn't taking vacations every month because that would exhaust my " F you" Fund. I made sure to switch it up very often to include some things that did not cost money such as renting a new book to read, going swimming and spending time with family.
Everyone should have an "F You" Fund. With life being chaotic at times especially with the pandemic, we all need to take a hard reset sometimes and focus on what makes us truly happy.
Cheers to " F you" Funds
