Epic FU money stories

[Cache Stash]

PTF

[Dicey]

PTF

Dangit! I was hoping someone had posted a new story or six. With so many Badasses out there in FIREland,  it must be time for a new influx of inspiring and motivational tales. Who's next? The mic is officially open.

I think I'll go pop up some popcorn in anticipation of good reads coming...

[frugalnacho]

Some minor back story for me:  My parents got foreclosed on 5 years ago, and I let them move into my house for far below fair market value (about $400-500 below FMV, I just asked them to reimburse me for the mortgage/taxes/insurance).  They lived there for 5 years and did not take care of the place.  I finally asked them to leave because I wanted to sell it, and they got all pissed off and it's caused a huge rift in the family.  Things are not good between me and them still. They got all huffy and moved out within a couple weeks and left the place in total disarray. I don't think they cleaned anything the whole time they were there.  So for the past month I've been cleaning it up and fixing things up (up to about $14K so far plus a couple hundred hours between me/wife/her family).    Also we are about 7 months pregnant after a long battle with infertility and going through IVF (and saving up for IVF because we ended up spending about $40k all said and done).  There have been some other major life stresses that I don't even need to go into now.  Suffice to say my life has been shitty and one big ball of stress for several months now.

So I come into work last week and SURPRISE the company you've worked at for 11 years has been sold! And those raises we promised...how about a pay cut instead?

They calculated my pay rate by excluding the bonus I get (about 15% of my total compensation) to get my "base pay", and then basically giving me that.  They also don't cover nearly as much of the insurance premiums as my previous employer.  The end result is that I previously paid about $1500/yr total for insurance for me and my wife, and now the insurance is switching over at 7 months pregnancy and the my new "family" premiums are going to be over $10k/yr.  I expected a slight jump in insurance when we added a kid, but they've totally changed the rules of the game just before the birth, without ever giving me a heads up, and it's going to affect me about $8k/yr.   

I told them the offer was bullshit and that I'm confident I can go find an engineering job paying more than that immediately.  They want me to start off at the bottom and prove myself, even though I have 11 years experience and played a large part in building the company to the level it was at.  I also have plenty of money socked away and could live for a couple years with no job if necessary.  So I told them all to stuff it and cleaned out my desk and walked out. 

Apparently that got their attention, and after a week of tense back and forth negotiation I now have a new contract.  With this new contract I get:

$13k/yr more salary
Large performance based bonus (estimated $10-15k/yr)
performance review/raise halfway between now and the next normal scheduled review
3 weeks paid paternity leave
"unlimited"* vacation
2 employees under me
I've been promised I don't have to do shitty field work anymore, and can just do office work if I want.

Everyone else in the office is stuck and had no real option but to sign their new contract so they can keep getting a paycheck.  I was the lone hold out.  The change didn't affect anyone else nearly as much as it affected me.  It pretty much worked out to equal compensation for everyone, except 2 of us senior guys, and it affected me much more harshly than the other guy.  All in all though I think it ended up working out in my favor, and should actually decrease my time to FIRE by a couple years or more.

*unlimited in the sense that it's only limited by my ability to get my job done.  Not truly unlimited, but I won't hit a point where they say "no you can't take that day off because you already took 14 days off!".  I'm skeptical how it's all going to work out.

[tyort1]

So I come into work last week and SURPRISE the company you've worked at for 11 years has been sold! And those raises we promised...how about a pay cut instead?

They calculated my pay rate by excluding the bonus I get (about 15% of my total compensation) to get my "base pay", and then basically giving me that.  They also don't cover nearly as much of the insurance premiums as my previous employer.  The end result is that I previously paid about $1500/yr total for insurance for me and my wife, and now the insurance is switching over at 7 months pregnancy and the my new "family" premiums are going to be over $10k/yr.  I expected a slight jump in insurance when we added a kid, but they've totally changed the rules of the game just before the birth, without ever giving me a heads up, and it's going to affect me about $8k/yr.   

I told them the offer was bullshit and that I'm confident I can go find an engineering job paying more than that immediately.  They want me to start off at the bottom and prove myself, even though I have 11 years experience and played a large part in building the company to the level it was at.  I also have plenty of money socked away and could live for a couple years with no job if necessary.  So I told them all to stuff it and cleaned out my desk and walked out. 

Apparently that got their attention, and after a week of tense back and forth negotiation I now have a new contract.  With this new contract I get:

$13k/yr more salary
Large performance based bonus (estimated $10-15k/yr)
performance review/raise halfway between now and the next normal scheduled review
3 weeks paid paternity leave
"unlimited"* vacation
2 employees under me
I've been promised I don't have to do shitty field work anymore, and can just do office work if I want.

That is freaking AWESOME!!!!  Yeah, the way of the mustache definitely lets you handle these situations from a position of power, which is definitely NOT the norm :)

[Warlord1986]

A shitload of awesome.

You are the hero we both need and deserve.

[Dicey]

Totally badass, frugalnacho. Congratulations to you, both on your incoming bundle of joy, and your excellent negotiating tactics.

[RyanAtTanagra]

So I told them all to stuff it and cleaned out my desk and walked out. 

Apparently that got their attention, and after a week of tense back and forth negotiation I now have a new contract.

Perfect use of FU money, congratulations!  It's amazing how much the game of life changes for the better when you just have a little savings.

[Dicey]

So I told them all to stuff it and cleaned out my desk and walked out. 

Apparently that got their attention, and after a week of tense back and forth negotiation I now have a new contract.

Perfect use of FU money, congratulations!  It's amazing how much the game of life changes for the better when you just have a little savings.

Or a lot.

[LeRainDrop]

Hell yeah, frugalnacho!  I'm sorry to hear you've had so many stresses on you lately, but that is one beautiful FU story that you really made work to your advantage!  Congrats on the successful negotiation and wishing you much happiness with your wife and the new baby!

[mm1970]

A beautiful story that brought tears to my eyes.

[mustachepungoeshere]

PTF

[Zamboni]

Well done!

FU money proves, once again, to be a wonderful thing.

[Adventine]

Some minor back story for me:  My parents got foreclosed on 5 years ago, and I let them move into my house for far below fair market value (about $400-500 below FMV, I just asked them to reimburse me for the mortgage/taxes/insurance).  They lived there for 5 years and did not take care of the place.  I finally asked them to leave because I wanted to sell it, and they got all pissed off and it's caused a huge rift in the family.  Things are not good between me and them still. They got all huffy and moved out within a couple weeks and left the place in total disarray. I don't think they cleaned anything the whole time they were there.  So for the past month I've been cleaning it up and fixing things up (up to about $14K so far plus a couple hundred hours between me/wife/her family).    Also we are about 7 months pregnant after a long battle with infertility and going through IVF (and saving up for IVF because we ended up spending about $40k all said and done).  There have been some other major life stresses that I don't even need to go into now.  Suffice to say my life has been shitty and one big ball of stress for several months now.

So I come into work last week and SURPRISE the company you've worked at for 11 years has been sold! And those raises we promised...how about a pay cut instead?

They calculated my pay rate by excluding the bonus I get (about 15% of my total compensation) to get my "base pay", and then basically giving me that.  They also don't cover nearly as much of the insurance premiums as my previous employer.  The end result is that I previously paid about $1500/yr total for insurance for me and my wife, and now the insurance is switching over at 7 months pregnancy and the my new "family" premiums are going to be over $10k/yr.  I expected a slight jump in insurance when we added a kid, but they've totally changed the rules of the game just before the birth, without ever giving me a heads up, and it's going to affect me about $8k/yr.   

I told them the offer was bullshit and that I'm confident I can go find an engineering job paying more than that immediately.  They want me to start off at the bottom and prove myself, even though I have 11 years experience and played a large part in building the company to the level it was at.  I also have plenty of money socked away and could live for a couple years with no job if necessary.  So I told them all to stuff it and cleaned out my desk and walked out. 

Apparently that got their attention, and after a week of tense back and forth negotiation I now have a new contract.  With this new contract I get:

$13k/yr more salary
Large performance based bonus (estimated $10-15k/yr)
performance review/raise halfway between now and the next normal scheduled review
3 weeks paid paternity leave
"unlimited"* vacation
2 employees under me
I've been promised I don't have to do shitty field work anymore, and can just do office work if I want.

Everyone else in the office is stuck and had no real option but to sign their new contract so they can keep getting a paycheck.  I was the lone hold out.  The change didn't affect anyone else nearly as much as it affected me.  It pretty much worked out to equal compensation for everyone, except 2 of us senior guys, and it affected me much more harshly than the other guy.  All in all though I think it ended up working out in my favor, and should actually decrease my time to FIRE by a couple years or more.

*unlimited in the sense that it's only limited by my ability to get my job done.  Not truly unlimited, but I won't hit a point where they say "no you can't take that day off because you already took 14 days off!".  I'm skeptical how it's all going to work out.

Go, frugalnacho!

[Paul der Krake]

Very nice.

[FIREby35]

FU Money is so powerful. Great job.

I can't help make a slightly larger comment. Can't you just hear all your friends who said bullshit about how your house was modest, your car was old, you are cheap? I know I can! They are the ones who have to meekly accept the attempted abuse you maneuvered away from. They keep thinking that savings is just about the money and things they want. Freedom, baby. It's about freedom.

[plainjane]

*unlimited in the sense that it's only limited by my ability to get my job done.  Not truly unlimited, but I won't hit a point where they say "no you can't take that day off because you already took 14 days off!".  I'm skeptical how it's all going to work out.

Make sure you make a record of how many days minimum you think is fair to take and actually take them. It is so easy as a lower level manager & previous independent contributor with a performance bonus to keep on putting off using the vacation days, and you end up not taking them (and then not getting them paid back when you leave because that is part of the 'unlimited' tradeoff).

[frugalnacho]

*unlimited in the sense that it's only limited by my ability to get my job done.  Not truly unlimited, but I won't hit a point where they say "no you can't take that day off because you already took 14 days off!".  I'm skeptical how it's all going to work out.

Make sure you make a record of how many days minimum you think is fair to take and actually take them. It is so easy as a lower level manager & previous independent contributor with a performance bonus to keep on putting off using the vacation days, and you end up not taking them (and then not getting them paid back when you leave because that is part of the 'unlimited' tradeoff).

They seem pretty anal about everyone keeping track of jobs and projects and billable hours.   Part of the reason they gave me a raise and kept me is because they need me.  No one else in the organization can do exactly what I do, how I do it.  I'm critical to keeping this company running, at least in the short term.  I know I'm not truly irreplaceable, but I know they can't go hire someone and get them up to my level any time soon, and probably not for what they are paying me either, so for the next year at least they absolutely need me.  That's all great when I'm negotiating for a raise, but now a couple weeks in when I want to start using my "unlimited" vacation time...well fuck, we have a couple complicated reports that are due this week and no one else is capable of getting them done.  This is the exact reason they need me around, so it's not like I can just go on vacation for the rest of the week.

[Sibley]

*unlimited in the sense that it's only limited by my ability to get my job done.  Not truly unlimited, but I won't hit a point where they say "no you can't take that day off because you already took 14 days off!".  I'm skeptical how it's all going to work out.

Make sure you make a record of how many days minimum you think is fair to take and actually take them. It is so easy as a lower level manager & previous independent contributor with a performance bonus to keep on putting off using the vacation days, and you end up not taking them (and then not getting them paid back when you leave because that is part of the 'unlimited' tradeoff).

They seem pretty anal about everyone keeping track of jobs and projects and billable hours.   Part of the reason they gave me a raise and kept me is because they need me.  No one else in the organization can do exactly what I do, how I do it.  I'm critical to keeping this company running, at least in the short term.  I know I'm not truly irreplaceable, but I know they can't go hire someone and get them up to my level any time soon, and probably not for what they are paying me either, so for the next year at least they absolutely need me.  That's all great when I'm negotiating for a raise, but now a couple weeks in when I want to start using my "unlimited" vacation time...well fuck, we have a couple complicated reports that are due this week and no one else is capable of getting them done.  This is the exact reason they need me around, so it's not like I can just go on vacation for the rest of the week.

Friday + Monday is a lot easier than Monday - Friday. Just saying.

[frugalnacho]

Friday + Monday is a lot easier than Monday - Friday. Just saying.

No doubt.  I'm going to start making Friday half days a thing.  And I'll probably try to take an actual week off twice annually.

[mtn]

Friday + Monday is a lot easier than Monday - Friday. Just saying.

No doubt.  I'm going to start making Friday half days a thing.  And I'll probably try to take an actual week off twice annually.

If I were you, I'd schedule a 2 week vacation every year--schedule it 9 months in advance.

I wish I could do that, but the wife hates vacations that long--which I just cannot comprehend.

[Primm]

If I were you, I'd schedule a 2 week vacation every year--schedule it 9 months in advance.

I wish I could do that, but the wife hates vacations that long--which I just cannot comprehend.

2 weeks is the absolute minimum needed for an effective vacation, IMO.

[FIREby35]

I take the last Friday of every month off. It's amazing what 12 additional three day weekends will do for your mindset. They said unlimited...

[BigHaus89]

I take the last Friday of every month off. It's amazing what 12 additional three day weekends will do for your mindset. They said unlimited...

+1 to this. I use basically all of my vacation for 3 and 4 day weekends. It really helps to recharge and still be able to get out and play.

[frugalnacho]

I take the last Friday of every month off. It's amazing what 12 additional three day weekends will do for your mindset. They said unlimited...

That's a good idea, I might just adopt that.  I might also try to bail out early the other 3 fridays also.

2 one-week vacations = 10 days
12 month ending fridays = 12 days
40 other fridays (leave 2 hours early) = 10 days

for a total of 32 days.  That might be pushing it a little.  I'll see if I can get my work done with these new vacation days.  I could always make up extra time during the week if we are busy so I won't actually be taking more vacation, just time shifting the last 2 hours of my friday earlier into the week. 

[Mr Griz]

We work a so-called 9/80 schedule with every other Friday off (in exchange for working 9 hour days). However, I have enough vacation time to take off all the working Friday's until my FIRE date next year. So basically I'm just working 4 day weeks from here on out. Sweet.

[honeybbq]

Yay, frugal! So happy to hear. It's karma giving back to you after horrible infertility problems. Worst thing in life IMO.

Best of luck in your new role and as a new parent!

[JanF]

posting to follow and be inspired!

[Dicey]

We work a so-called 9/80 schedule with every other Friday off (in exchange for working 9 hour days). However, I have enough vacation time to take off all the working Friday's until my FIRE date next year. So basically I'm just working 4 day weeks from here on out. Sweet.

DH works that same schedule and we love it! He could do the same thing, but he hoards a good chunk of his very generous annual vacation allowance, partly because combining 9/80's, holidays and comp time is one of his favorite work-related games. His FIRE date isn't coming up quite as soon, but he will earn a generous pension with health benefits and COLA in just three more years. I can't wait!

[mm1970]

I take the last Friday of every month off. It's amazing what 12 additional three day weekends will do for your mindset. They said unlimited...

That's a good idea, I might just adopt that.  I might also try to bail out early the other 3 fridays also.

2 one-week vacations = 10 days
12 month ending fridays = 12 days
40 other fridays (leave 2 hours early) = 10 days

for a total of 32 days.  That might be pushing it a little.  I'll see if I can get my work done with these new vacation days.  I could always make up extra time during the week if we are busy so I won't actually be taking more vacation, just time shifting the last 2 hours of my friday earlier into the week.

I'm assuming you get holidays and sick time too?

I get 34 days of PTO a year, so if you are talking 32 days only, I'm not impressed.   If you add 9 holidays and 5 sick days, now we are talking.

[frugalnacho]

I take the last Friday of every month off. It's amazing what 12 additional three day weekends will do for your mindset. They said unlimited...

That's a good idea, I might just adopt that.  I might also try to bail out early the other 3 fridays also.

2 one-week vacations = 10 days
12 month ending fridays = 12 days
40 other fridays (leave 2 hours early) = 10 days

for a total of 32 days.  That might be pushing it a little.  I'll see if I can get my work done with these new vacation days.  I could always make up extra time during the week if we are busy so I won't actually be taking more vacation, just time shifting the last 2 hours of my friday earlier into the week.

I'm assuming you get holidays and sick time too?

I get 34 days of PTO a year, so if you are talking 32 days only, I'm not impressed.   If you add 9 holidays and 5 sick days, now we are talking.

Add 9 holidays and 7 sick days to those figures.   Also add 15 days for paternity leave this year (though this will not be a recurring leave for me).

[crispy]

This may not be epic, but it sure made me feel better.

I work with a lot of awesome people, but one of the assistants to a high-level executive is just a nasty piece of work. She yells at people and just treats everyone like dirt. Shed is basically just a bully who thinks she is untouchable and acts accordingly.  She has always been particularly rude to me. I am fairly new and on probation, and I tend to be a friendly, easygoing person so I think she sees me as an easy target.

Back in July, she called me and went off about something stupid. I held my peace, but I  told my boss that she would never, ever speak to me like that again. I am not sure if something was said to her, but she has been semi-pleasant for the past few weeks. Last week, she was back at it and reduced our office assistant to tears. Today, while I was in another area working, she came into our office area, slammed the door as hard as she could and demanded to see me. Since I wasn't available she demanded to see my supervisor and threw a fit because she didn't like how I added something to MY  calendar (apparently blocking off the day for a full day meeting is JUST.NOT.DONE) and then just lied about another perceived infractions. My supervisor basically laughed in her face. She seriously caused a huge scene about a calendar entry.

When I heard about this, I walked down to her office and told her off in a very professional way. She said she had never felt so disrespected in her life, and I told her that she now has taste of what everyone else feels like they deal with her and told her she had better not lie about me again and to never, ever speak to me with an attitude.

When I walked back to my office, I told my supervisor what I had done and to expect her to file a complaint against me tomorrow. I told her (direct quote), "I may be a bitch, but I'm not her bitch" and walked out the door.

So basically, I will see what hits the fan tomorrow...and I don't care. I have watched this person bully people for months and many feel they can't say anything because they need their job. I can because I don't. That is a pretty awesome feeling.

[Accidental Miser]

This may not be epic, but it sure made me feel better.

I work with a lot of awesome people, but one of the assistants to a high-level executive is just a nasty piece of work. She yells at people and just treats everyone like dirt. Shed is basically just a bully who thinks she is untouchable and acts accordingly.  She has always been particularly rude to me. I am fairly new and on probation, and I tend to be a friendly, easygoing person so I think she sees me as an easy target.

Back in July, she called me and went off about something stupid. I held my peace, but I  told my boss that she would never, ever speak to me like that again. I am not sure if something was said to her, but she has been semi-pleasant for the past few weeks. Last week, she was back at it and reduced our office assistant to tears. Today, while I was in another area working, she came into our office area, slammed the door as hard as she could and demanded to see me. Since I wasn't available she demanded to see my supervisor and threw a fit because she didn't like how I added something to MY  calendar (apparently blocking off the day for a full day meeting is JUST.NOT.DONE) and then just lied about another perceived infractions. My supervisor basically laughed in her face.she seriously caused a huge scene about a calendar entry.

When I heard about this, I walked down to her office and told her off in a very professional way. She said she had never felt so disrespected in her life, and I told her that she now has taste of what everyone else feels like they deal with her and told her she had better not lie about me again and to never, ever speak to me with an attitude.

When I walked back to my office, I told my supervisor what I had done and to expect her to file a complaint against me tomorrow. I told her (direct quote), "I may be a bitch, but I'm not her bitch" and walked out the door.

So basically, I will see what hits the fan tomorrow...and I don't care. I have watched this person bully people for months and many feel they can't say anything because they need their job. I can because I don't. That is a pretty awesome feeling.

Bravo for you.  We have an executive assistant that is similar at my company.  We call her "Barbzilla".  Hopefully, everything will work out for the best!

[SwordGuy]

So basically, I will see what hits the fan tomorrow...and I don't care. I have watched this person bully people for months and many feel they can't say anything because they need their job. I can because I don't. That is a pretty awesome feeling.

First of all, thanks.   Thanks for all the folks who aren't in a position to defend themselves.   
Management will tend to ignore her behavior until they can't - and you've made it visible enough that they may have to stop ignoring it.

Second, bravo for being prepared!

I try to tell folks you're just one psycho boss away from hell, so be prepared.

[MonkeyJenga]

This may not be epic, but it sure made me feel better.

I work with a lot of awesome people, but one of the assistants to a high-level executive is just a nasty piece of work. She yells at people and just treats everyone like dirt. Shed is basically just a bully who thinks she is untouchable and acts accordingly.  She has always been particularly rude to me. I am fairly new and on probation, and I tend to be a friendly, easygoing person so I think she sees me as an easy target.

Back in July, she called me and went off about something stupid. I held my peace, but I  told my boss that she would never, ever speak to me like that again. I am not sure if something was said to her, but she has been semi-pleasant for the past few weeks. Last week, she was back at it and reduced our office assistant to tears. Today, while I was in another area working, she came into our office area, slammed the door as hard as she could and demanded to see me. Since I wasn't available she demanded to see my supervisor and threw a fit because she didn't like how I added something to MY  calendar (apparently blocking off the day for a full day meeting is JUST.NOT.DONE) and then just lied about another perceived infractions. My supervisor basically laughed in her face. She seriously caused a huge scene about a calendar entry.

When I heard about this, I walked down to her office and told her off in a very professional way. She said she had never felt so disrespected in her life, and I told her that she now has taste of what everyone else feels like they deal with her and told her she had better not lie about me again and to never, ever speak to me with an attitude.

When I walked back to my office, I told my supervisor what I had done and to expect her to file a complaint against me tomorrow. I told her (direct quote), "I may be a bitch, but I'm not her bitch" and walked out the door.

So basically, I will see what hits the fan tomorrow...and I don't care. I have watched this person bully people for months and many feel they can't say anything because they need their job. I can because I don't. That is a pretty awesome feeling.

Um, this is epic. Come on, it ends with you saying to your boss, "I may be a bitch, but I'm not her bitch," dropping the mic, and walking the fuck out! I LOVE IT.

[arebelspy]

When I walked back to my office, I told my supervisor what I had done and to expect her to file a complaint against me tomorrow. I told her (direct quote), "I may be a bitch, but I'm not her bitch" and walked out the door.

BADASS!

[Gone Fishing]

...I tend to be a friendly, easygoing person so I think she sees me as an easy target.

Yep.  That's what they do. 

A few years ago, I was assigned to work with (but not for) a fellow known for yelling at people.  Knowing his reputation, I decided that if he ever came into my office and gave me shit, I was going to stand up and tell him to get the hell out.  Sadly, we were reassigned just a month or two later, and I never got to use my line:(

[Adventine]

This may not be epic, but it sure made me feel better.

I work with a lot of awesome people, but one of the assistants to a high-level executive is just a nasty piece of work. She yells at people and just treats everyone like dirt. Shed is basically just a bully who thinks she is untouchable and acts accordingly.  She has always been particularly rude to me. I am fairly new and on probation, and I tend to be a friendly, easygoing person so I think she sees me as an easy target.

Back in July, she called me and went off about something stupid. I held my peace, but I  told my boss that she would never, ever speak to me like that again. I am not sure if something was said to her, but she has been semi-pleasant for the past few weeks. Last week, she was back at it and reduced our office assistant to tears. Today, while I was in another area working, she came into our office area, slammed the door as hard as she could and demanded to see me. Since I wasn't available she demanded to see my supervisor and threw a fit because she didn't like how I added something to MY  calendar (apparently blocking off the day for a full day meeting is JUST.NOT.DONE) and then just lied about another perceived infractions. My supervisor basically laughed in her face. She seriously caused a huge scene about a calendar entry.

When I heard about this, I walked down to her office and told her off in a very professional way. She said she had never felt so disrespected in her life, and I told her that she now has taste of what everyone else feels like they deal with her and told her she had better not lie about me again and to never, ever speak to me with an attitude.

When I walked back to my office, I told my supervisor what I had done and to expect her to file a complaint against me tomorrow. I told her (direct quote), "I may be a bitch, but I'm not her bitch" and walked out the door.

So basically, I will see what hits the fan tomorrow...and I don't care. I have watched this person bully people for months and many feel they can't say anything because they need their job. I can because I don't. That is a pretty awesome feeling.

You're awesome.

[shelivesthedream]

Pleeeeeaaaase update us on how she reacts. That was mega!

[HairyUpperLip]

Wow, nice. Also looking forward to the update.

[mm1970]

I take the last Friday of every month off. It's amazing what 12 additional three day weekends will do for your mindset. They said unlimited...

That's a good idea, I might just adopt that.  I might also try to bail out early the other 3 fridays also.

2 one-week vacations = 10 days
12 month ending fridays = 12 days
40 other fridays (leave 2 hours early) = 10 days

for a total of 32 days.  That might be pushing it a little.  I'll see if I can get my work done with these new vacation days.  I could always make up extra time during the week if we are busy so I won't actually be taking more vacation, just time shifting the last 2 hours of my friday earlier into the week.

I'm assuming you get holidays and sick time too?

I get 34 days of PTO a year, so if you are talking 32 days only, I'm not impressed.   If you add 9 holidays and 5 sick days, now we are talking.

Add 9 holidays and 7 sick days to those figures.   Also add 15 days for paternity leave this year (though this will not be a recurring leave for me).

Much better.  I interviewed at a company whose starting PTO was 19 days...sick, holiday, and vacation ... and they couldn't understand why they were unable to attract talent, especially people with experience.

[crispy]

Well, nothing has been said by her at all.  My supervisor did let me know she has my back if she wants to start something and the few coworkers who have heard about it have high-fived me.    Our big director is out of the office today so it is possible that there could be some repercussions on that end although I suspect the big director will not be inclined to do much because I know she has been on the receiving end of her wrath, too. I have been in a great mood all day.

[RyanAtTanagra]

Good job!  My favorite uses of FU money are the ones that benefit others, so bravo to that!

[Meowmalade]

Well, nothing has been said by her at all.  My supervisor did let me know she has my back if she wants to start something and the few coworkers who have heard about it have high-fived me.    Our big director is out of the office today so it is possible that there could be some repercussions on that end although I suspect the big director will not be inclined to do much because I know she has been on the receiving end of her wrath, too. I have been in a great mood all day.

You're the office hero!!  I bet there were so many other people who wanted to tell her off for ages, but didn't.

[Roe]

We work a so-called 9/80 schedule with every other Friday off (in exchange for working 9 hour days). However, I have enough vacation time to take off all the working Friday's until my FIRE date next year. So basically I'm just working 4 day weeks from here on out. Sweet.

 Well planned! Will be a nice, smooth sailing up until FIRE.

[Zamboni]

This may not be epic, but it sure made me feel better.

I work with a lot of awesome people, but one of the assistants to a high-level executive is just a nasty piece of work. She yells at people and just treats everyone like dirt. Shed is basically just a bully who thinks she is untouchable and acts accordingly.  She has always been particularly rude to me. I am fairly new and on probation, and I tend to be a friendly, easygoing person so I think she sees me as an easy target.

Back in July, she called me and went off about something stupid. I held my peace, but I  told my boss that she would never, ever speak to me like that again. I am not sure if something was said to her, but she has been semi-pleasant for the past few weeks. Last week, she was back at it and reduced our office assistant to tears. Today, while I was in another area working, she came into our office area, slammed the door as hard as she could and demanded to see me. Since I wasn't available she demanded to see my supervisor and threw a fit because she didn't like how I added something to MY  calendar (apparently blocking off the day for a full day meeting is JUST.NOT.DONE) and then just lied about another perceived infractions. My supervisor basically laughed in her face.she seriously caused a huge scene about a calendar entry.

When I heard about this, I walked down to her office and told her off in a very professional way. She said she had never felt so disrespected in her life, and I told her that she now has taste of what everyone else feels like they deal with her and told her she had better not lie about me again and to never, ever speak to me with an attitude.

When I walked back to my office, I told my supervisor what I had done and to expect her to file a complaint against me tomorrow. I told her (direct quote), "I may be a bitch, but I'm not her bitch" and walked out the door.

So basically, I will see what hits the fan tomorrow...and I don't care. I have watched this person bully people for months and many feel they can't say anything because they need their job. I can because I don't. That is a pretty awesome feeling.

Bravo for you.  We have an executive assistant that is similar at my company.  We call her "Barbzilla".  Hopefully, everything will work out for the best!

Office nicknames for the awful are the best. We had an incompetent and particularly nasty accountant once who earned the nickname "SheDemon." But of course, everyone pronounced it Shed-eh-mon . . . it was a great inside joke.

Well done, crispy. She flipped out about how you had saved something on your calendar? That's in seriously cray-cray land.

[Dicey]

Way to cream her, crispy!

[sequoia]

This may not be epic, but it sure made me feel better.

I work with a lot of awesome people, but one of the assistants to a high-level executive is just a nasty piece of work. She yells at people and just treats everyone like dirt. Shed is basically just a bully who thinks she is untouchable and acts accordingly.  She has always been particularly rude to me. I am fairly new and on probation, and I tend to be a friendly, easygoing person so I think she sees me as an easy target.

Back in July, she called me and went off about something stupid. I held my peace, but I  told my boss that she would never, ever speak to me like that again. I am not sure if something was said to her, but she has been semi-pleasant for the past few weeks. Last week, she was back at it and reduced our office assistant to tears. Today, while I was in another area working, she came into our office area, slammed the door as hard as she could and demanded to see me. Since I wasn't available she demanded to see my supervisor and threw a fit because she didn't like how I added something to MY  calendar (apparently blocking off the day for a full day meeting is JUST.NOT.DONE) and then just lied about another perceived infractions. My supervisor basically laughed in her face. She seriously caused a huge scene about a calendar entry.

When I heard about this, I walked down to her office and told her off in a very professional way. She said she had never felt so disrespected in her life, and I told her that she now has taste of what everyone else feels like they deal with her and told her she had better not lie about me again and to never, ever speak to me with an attitude.

When I walked back to my office, I told my supervisor what I had done and to expect her to file a complaint against me tomorrow. I told her (direct quote), "I may be a bitch, but I'm not her bitch" and walked out the door.

So basically, I will see what hits the fan tomorrow...and I don't care. I have watched this person bully people for months and many feel they can't say anything because they need their job. I can because I don't. That is a pretty awesome feeling.

If I work at the same place as you, I would be buying you lunch for this! This is soo epic!

[DeepEllumStache]

That was perfection. Well done with the office bully.

[Ladychips]

She said she had never felt so disrespected in her life, and I told her that she now has taste of what everyone else feels like they deal with her...

It could be that this is the first time she ever saw her behavior through another person's eyes.  You might be the catalyst that makes her change the way she treats people for the better.  If not, you have likely been the first chink in the wall that will eventually come crumbling down around her. 

Good for you!

[jrbrokerr]

This may not be epic, but it sure made me feel better.

I work with a lot of awesome people, but one of the assistants to a high-level executive is just a nasty piece of work. She yells at people and just treats everyone like dirt. Shed is basically just a bully who thinks she is untouchable and acts accordingly.  She has always been particularly rude to me. I am fairly new and on probation, and I tend to be a friendly, easygoing person so I think she sees me as an easy target.

Back in July, she called me and went off about something stupid. I held my peace, but I  told my boss that she would never, ever speak to me like that again. I am not sure if something was said to her, but she has been semi-pleasant for the past few weeks. Last week, she was back at it and reduced our office assistant to tears. Today, while I was in another area working, she came into our office area, slammed the door as hard as she could and demanded to see me. Since I wasn't available she demanded to see my supervisor and threw a fit because she didn't like how I added something to MY  calendar (apparently blocking off the day for a full day meeting is JUST.NOT.DONE) and then just lied about another perceived infractions. My supervisor basically laughed in her face.she seriously caused a huge scene about a calendar entry.

When I heard about this, I walked down to her office and told her off in a very professional way. She said she had never felt so disrespected in her life, and I told her that she now has taste of what everyone else feels like they deal with her and told her she had better not lie about me again and to never, ever speak to me with an attitude.

When I walked back to my office, I told my supervisor what I had done and to expect her to file a complaint against me tomorrow. I told her (direct quote), "I may be a bitch, but I'm not her bitch" and walked out the door.

So basically, I will see what hits the fan tomorrow...and I don't care. I have watched this person bully people for months and many feel they can't say anything because they need their job. I can because I don't. That is a pretty awesome feeling.

Bravo for you.  We have an executive assistant that is similar at my company.  We call her "Barbzilla".  Hopefully, everything will work out for the best!

Good for you and for your colleagues!! I know your feeling because I have used FU money in a similar way by challenging ass*** managers who think they are the corporate Gods. People in my team also view me as a hero and just donīt understand why I am always so careless of the consequences of my attitude.