Author Topic: Epic FU money stories  (Read 2794843 times)

driftwood

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2250 on: March 11, 2018, 12:43:56 AM »
I have a FU story in progress; so I came in to work the other day and we got called into a meeting turns out my part of the Company (Company A) is getting sold to Company B. We got offered our same jobs at Company B with a small sign on bonus.

It’s likely my DH is getting sent to HongKong for work for 6 months in May so I told work I’m not signing the contract with Company B ( I was originally thinking I would ask Company A to work remotely but Company B is a smaller and not international) I’m now hoping I will get a small redundancy. Even if we don’t end up going to HK, we have FU money so I can wait around for the redundancy and then look for another job.

HR said that they will have to try and find me a job in another part of the company before they look into redundancy. So, we will see what happens!

I’m one of the minority that can afford to hang around without a job.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Update- Now they are screwing us out of a redundancy, they said that as they are offering us equivalent jobs at Company B then there will be no redundancy payment if we don’t sign on to Company B.
They had sent an email week ago stating that there would be a redundancy payment and now they are saying there is not. I looked up the fair work act (Australia) and it’s correct that we are not actually entitled to a redundancy payment but I’m guessing that since they told us we are and now we are not there would be some room for argument, anyone know?
You can always argue anything, and if you have a trades union I'm sure they will be able to argue it on your behalf.  I think a legal case based on estoppel (the idea that you can hold someone to their word if you have acted to your detriment as a result) probably doesn't apply because you hadn't lost the offer of the job at Company B before Company A changed their minds.  But definitely one for the Australians to answer more definitively (or as least as definitively as any free legal opinion over the internet).

Ditto.  I don't think you could show any actual damages.  But they suck :-/

So they made a mistake in saying you would receive a redundancy payment.  But really, why should they pay you to quit?  They literally want to keep you working at your job and are including a bonus FOR YOU TO KEEP YOUR JOB.  My employers pay me to work, but if I QUIT they wouldn't pay me extra money because I chose to not work with them.  It's nice to get pay for quitting, but that's not really the way the world works.  I'm not sure if there's more to the story, but you just seem salty that you can't get free money when you're providing no value to the company (if you leave).

shelivesthedream

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2251 on: March 11, 2018, 01:38:43 AM »
Quote
It's nice to get paid for quitting, but that's not really the way the world works.

Except it kind of is, though. You might think that you shouldn't get a redundancy payment (given that there is another job available) but they are very common and it is not unreasonable for the OP to expect their company to uphold professional norms. It's not like some huge treat - it's what companies do in this day and age.

Luckyvik

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2252 on: March 11, 2018, 04:15:15 AM »
Quote
It's nice to get paid for quitting, but that's not really the way the world works.

Except it kind of is, though. You might think that you shouldn't get a redundancy payment (given that there is another job available) but they are very common and it is not unreasonable for the OP to expect their company to uphold professional norms. It's not like some huge treat - it's what companies do in this day and age.
Thanks @shelivesthedream I will report back what happens

Trifle

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2253 on: March 11, 2018, 05:43:05 AM »
I have a FU story in progress; so I came in to work the other day and we got called into a meeting turns out my part of the Company (Company A) is getting sold to Company B. We got offered our same jobs at Company B with a small sign on bonus.

It’s likely my DH is getting sent to HongKong for work for 6 months in May so I told work I’m not signing the contract with Company B ( I was originally thinking I would ask Company A to work remotely but Company B is a smaller and not international) I’m now hoping I will get a small redundancy. Even if we don’t end up going to HK, we have FU money so I can wait around for the redundancy and then look for another job.

HR said that they will have to try and find me a job in another part of the company before they look into redundancy. So, we will see what happens!

I’m one of the minority that can afford to hang around without a job.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Update- Now they are screwing us out of a redundancy, they said that as they are offering us equivalent jobs at Company B then there will be no redundancy payment if we don’t sign on to Company B.
They had sent an email week ago stating that there would be a redundancy payment and now they are saying there is not. I looked up the fair work act (Australia) and it’s correct that we are not actually entitled to a redundancy payment but I’m guessing that since they told us we are and now we are not there would be some room for argument, anyone know?
You can always argue anything, and if you have a trades union I'm sure they will be able to argue it on your behalf.  I think a legal case based on estoppel (the idea that you can hold someone to their word if you have acted to your detriment as a result) probably doesn't apply because you hadn't lost the offer of the job at Company B before Company A changed their minds.  But definitely one for the Australians to answer more definitively (or as least as definitively as any free legal opinion over the internet).

Ditto.  I don't think you could show any actual damages.  But they suck :-/

So they made a mistake in saying you would receive a redundancy payment.  But really, why should they pay you to quit?  They literally want to keep you working at your job and are including a bonus FOR YOU TO KEEP YOUR JOB.  My employers pay me to work, but if I QUIT they wouldn't pay me extra money because I chose to not work with them.  It's nice to get pay for quitting, but that's not really the way the world works.  I'm not sure if there's more to the story, but you just seem salty that you can't get free money when you're providing no value to the company (if you leave).

I think this totally depends on where you live.  In the US redundancy payments a/k/a severance payouts are not as common, but that's not always true elsewhere. 

driftwood

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2254 on: March 11, 2018, 08:05:34 PM »
Quote
It's nice to get paid for quitting, but that's not really the way the world works.

Except it kind of is, though. You might think that you shouldn't get a redundancy payment (given that there is another job available) but they are very common and it is not unreasonable for the OP to expect their company to uphold professional norms. It's not like some huge treat - it's what companies do in this day and age.

I thought severance/redudancy pay was for people who were fired, not people who quit. 

shelivesthedream

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2255 on: March 12, 2018, 02:16:25 AM »
Quote
It's nice to get paid for quitting, but that's not really the way the world works.

Except it kind of is, though. You might think that you shouldn't get a redundancy payment (given that there is another job available) but they are very common and it is not unreasonable for the OP to expect their company to uphold professional norms. It's not like some huge treat - it's what companies do in this day and age.

I thought severance/redudancy pay was for people who were fired, not people who quit.

Being fired and being made redundant are different. If you're fired its because you personally did something so they fire you and hire someone else to do your old job. Being made redundant means that the company decides your job doesn't exist any more. They may offer you something roughly equivalent, but you can argue that it's not the same job and they have basically made you unemployed through no fault of your own. Again, you may believe that redundancy payouts shouldn't exist, but the fact is that a great many companies will then offer you X months salary as a kind of apology. Why? Well, if nothing else, word gets around and it makes them look like nice people who care about their (former) employees.

Linea_Norway

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2256 on: March 12, 2018, 02:26:37 AM »
Quote
It's nice to get paid for quitting, but that's not really the way the world works.

Except it kind of is, though. You might think that you shouldn't get a redundancy payment (given that there is another job available) but they are very common and it is not unreasonable for the OP to expect their company to uphold professional norms. It's not like some huge treat - it's what companies do in this day and age.

I thought severance/redudancy pay was for people who were fired, not people who quit.

Being fired and being made redundant are different. If you're fired its because you personally did something so they fire you and hire someone else to do your old job. Being made redundant means that the company decides your job doesn't exist any more. They may offer you something roughly equivalent, but you can argue that it's not the same job and they have basically made you unemployed through no fault of your own. Again, you may believe that redundancy payouts shouldn't exist, but the fact is that a great many companies will then offer you X months salary as a kind of apology. Why? Well, if nothing else, word gets around and it makes them look like nice people who care about their (former) employees.

Sometimes companies (want to) fire someone without have a legitimate reason. Then they also pay/or forced to pay a severance package for that.
If you are close to FIRE that might be a strategy... Make yourself less attractive without doing anything wrong formally and get fired with a nice package.

Zaga

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2257 on: March 12, 2018, 04:59:11 AM »
A company I worked for was bought out and the new owners wanted anyone who wasn't perfectly happy to leave, so they offered anyone who signed up 6 months pay to leave.  I had been wanting to leave so that was the kick in the butt I needed to do so.

Not exactly a redundancy, but a severance package for leaving.

Maenad

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2258 on: March 12, 2018, 05:33:27 AM »
DH now has an epic FU money story. He's a Subject Matter Expert on a specific skill at his job, and the only one who really understands it. His grandboss has recently been pushing him to compromise his standards for documentation that was going into a governmental submission to sell products in a specific country. He was told that he just had to fit 10 gallons of sh*t in a 5 gallon bucket.

His "no"s went repeatedly unacknowledged until an actual deadline was missed (his warning of which was also ignored), then he was hauled into the office for a dressing-down - he's just a clock-puncher, leaves his computer at his desk in the evenings, works from home too much (though it's OK when other people do it), etc. He firmly defended himself - he was promised decent work-life balance in the interviewing process (he specifically asked), he was promised that WFH was OK under certain conditions, which are met every time, etc. By now he's royally pissed because people have basically been spying on him at work and running to the grandboss like little children. He figures he'll be fired any day now.

We're taking a few days off to decompress this week, and spent yesterday looking at our budget/tracking spreadsheet. Even if he quits/gets fired this month and never works again, we'll still be contributing to savings every month and it'll push back ER for me 6 months to a year. So it really doesn't matter, and he really doesn't care - the damage to his reputation for submitting crappy work would be worse than any "clock-punching" accusations.

EricL

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2259 on: March 12, 2018, 12:06:55 PM »
DH now has an epic FU money story. He's a Subject Matter Expert on a specific skill at his job, and the only one who really understands it. His grandboss has recently been pushing him to compromise his standards for documentation that was going into a governmental submission to sell products in a specific country. He was told that he just had to fit 10 gallons of sh*t in a 5 gallon bucket.

His "no"s went repeatedly unacknowledged until an actual deadline was missed (his warning of which was also ignored), then he was hauled into the office for a dressing-down - he's just a clock-puncher, leaves his computer at his desk in the evenings, works from home too much (though it's OK when other people do it), etc. He firmly defended himself - he was promised decent work-life balance in the interviewing process (he specifically asked), he was promised that WFH was OK under certain conditions, which are met every time, etc. By now he's royally pissed because people have basically been spying on him at work and running to the grandboss like little children. He figures he'll be fired any day now.

We're taking a few days off to decompress this week, and spent yesterday looking at our budget/tracking spreadsheet. Even if he quits/gets fired this month and never works again, we'll still be contributing to savings every month and it'll push back ER for me 6 months to a year. So it really doesn't matter, and he really doesn't care - the damage to his reputation for submitting crappy work would be worse than any "clock-punching" accusations.

I hope he documented his employer's sleazy requests.  It could prove a handy bargaining chip/hand grenade, depending.

NoraLenderbee

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2260 on: March 12, 2018, 03:05:55 PM »
Quote
It's nice to get paid for quitting, but that's not really the way the world works.

Except it kind of is, though. You might think that you shouldn't get a redundancy payment (given that there is another job available) but they are very common and it is not unreasonable for the OP to expect their company to uphold professional norms. It's not like some huge treat - it's what companies do in this day and age.

I thought severance/redudancy pay was for people who were fired, not people who quit.

Redundancy (UK) = layoff (US). Your position is eliminated; you aren't losing your job for performance reasons. You're eligible for severance, if it's offered.
Being fired = you lose your job because they didn't like something you did. Not eligible for severance (in the US), usually.
Quitting = you choose to leave; the company owes you no severance because they didn't make the decision.


Laura33

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2261 on: March 14, 2018, 06:33:06 AM »
Quote
It's nice to get paid for quitting, but that's not really the way the world works.

Except it kind of is, though. You might think that you shouldn't get a redundancy payment (given that there is another job available) but they are very common and it is not unreasonable for the OP to expect their company to uphold professional norms. It's not like some huge treat - it's what companies do in this day and age.

I thought severance/redudancy pay was for people who were fired, not people who quit.

Being fired and being made redundant are different. If you're fired its because you personally did something so they fire you and hire someone else to do your old job. Being made redundant means that the company decides your job doesn't exist any more. They may offer you something roughly equivalent, but you can argue that it's not the same job and they have basically made you unemployed through no fault of your own. Again, you may believe that redundancy payouts shouldn't exist, but the fact is that a great many companies will then offer you X months salary as a kind of apology. Why? Well, if nothing else, word gets around and it makes them look like nice people who care about their (former) employees.

Another reason employers offer severance is as an enticement to stay for some set period of time to assist in an orderly transition -- they know that with the uncertainty of a pending merger or whatever, people with options (i.e., the best employees) are immediately going to start looking for other jobs and jumping ship, so they promise severance for anyone who stays through X date. 

In the US, one other popular reason for severance is to persuade people who are being let go to sign a release of any claims against the company.  We do that -- not because we think we have done anything wrong (I'm in charge of our compliance and would bust heads if I knew of anything like that), but because in the US it is very, very easy to file a lawsuit, and even if the suit has no merit, you can still spend a lot of time and money defending against it.  So we offer something like two weeks' pay in return for a release of all such claims.

Adventine

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2262 on: March 14, 2018, 11:39:17 AM »
FU money also gives you the ability to be a pleasant worker bee in a hive teeming with discontent.

I project a nice and pleasant demeanor at work, partly because I like to do it and partly because the workday is just that much easier with a positive attitude.

I noticed that, for a couple of weeks now, after our annual performance review and bonus payout, several members of my team have become sullen, disengaged and even openly hostile to management and perceived management "favorites." Unfortunately, one of the perceived "favorites" seems to be... me. At least, that's what I suspect with some people who would formerly say hi in passing, and now don't even acknowledge my greetings or pointedly leave me out of conversations.

It's sad that I got a good performance review/bonus and they (apparently) didn't, but what can I do about that?

Not much, except stay consistently nice and pleasant to everybody, finish all my deliverables on time, and keep coming to work with a smile on my face, and the secret knowledge that I've got 10 years worth of expenses saved up, am stashing 50% of my takehome pay, and can smilingly walk away from rude behavior every time.

Now that I think about it, maybe the consistently pleasant demeanor is exactly what they find so irritating ;)

albireo13

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2263 on: March 15, 2018, 05:32:48 PM »
Is your nose brown??

[MOD NOTE: Forum Rule #1]
« Last Edit: March 16, 2018, 08:00:31 AM by FrugalToque »

nnls

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2264 on: March 15, 2018, 07:00:12 PM »

Now that I think about it, maybe the consistently pleasant demeanor is exactly what they find so irritating ;)

Dicey

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2265 on: March 15, 2018, 07:10:12 PM »
^^Love this!^^

SwordGuy

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2266 on: March 15, 2018, 10:35:39 PM »
Is your nose brown??

That was an uncalled for statement. 

Bless your heart, it's possible to be perfectly charming, polite, and friendly while not taking shit from anyone. 

.

Prairie Stash

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2267 on: March 16, 2018, 09:11:41 AM »
Quote
It's nice to get paid for quitting, but that's not really the way the world works.

Except it kind of is, though. You might think that you shouldn't get a redundancy payment (given that there is another job available) but they are very common and it is not unreasonable for the OP to expect their company to uphold professional norms. It's not like some huge treat - it's what companies do in this day and age.

I thought severance/redudancy pay was for people who were fired, not people who quit.

Redundancy (UK) = layoff (US). Your position is eliminated; you aren't losing your job for performance reasons. You're eligible for severance, if it's offered.
Being fired = you lose your job because they didn't like something you did. Not eligible for severance (in the US), usually.
Quitting = you choose to leave; the company owes you no severance because they didn't make the decision.
Constructive Dismissal - making the job situation intolerable enough that a person quits. Generally eligible for severance.

The person quits, but argues they had no choice. An example can be frequent harassment by colleagues, if you are sexually harassed and quit, its not your fault and the comapny should provide severance. There are a lot of other reasons, the general theme is the company takes actions that make you miserable and you leave (quit), with cause. It requires you to obtain an employment lawyer, generally bridges are burned and it can be very messy.

However the threat of constructive dismissal, or the potential for it, often leads to companies providing severance. Its cheaper and better for a company to provide severance than risk the lawsuit.

jeninco

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2268 on: March 16, 2018, 09:52:55 AM »
Is your nose brown??

That was an uncalled for statement. 

Bless your heart, it's possible to be perfectly charming, polite, and friendly while not taking shit from anyone. 

.

That was a near coffee-keyboard miss, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who caught that -- well played!

BlueHouse

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2269 on: March 16, 2018, 02:25:08 PM »
FU money also gives you the ability to be a pleasant worker bee in a hive teeming with discontent.
I project a nice and pleasant demeanor at work, partly because I like to do it and partly because the workday is just that much easier with a positive attitude.


I love this! I need to remember this more often because I hate being one of those negative people.  Negative people are a drag to be around and I don't want to be one of them!
Quote
... the secret knowledge that I've got 10 years worth of expenses saved up, am stashing 50% of my takehome pay, and can smilingly walk away from rude behavior every time.

Woo HOO!!!!  That's what it's all about!  Way to go, Adventine!

albireo13

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2270 on: March 22, 2018, 04:03:27 PM »
Is your nose brown??

That was an uncalled for statement. 

Bless your heart, it's possible to be perfectly charming, polite, and friendly while not taking shit from anyone. 

.

Indeed.     : )

Missy B

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2271 on: March 25, 2018, 11:05:31 PM »
I knew a legal admin assistant, very experienced, with the same law firm for thirty years. At some point when she was over sixty, she went in to the partner who made the decisions about staffing, and said, "I'd really like to work 4 days instead of 5. I need the extra day, I don't have the energy I used to." She had a pretty serious hip condition, and she just kept working, never complained about it. She was finding herself still really fatigued after the weekend, and knew she needed to back off work.
"Oh," he says. "Well. That's just not possible. You can't work four days! We need you here, the office is open five days not four, etc." End of discussion.
"Alright," she says. "I thought you might say that, and I understand. And 'm not in a position to work five days anymore. And so I have this for you." And she puts a letter of resignation on his desk, which she had already done. And his eyes go round. He started back-pedalling immediately. Oh, wait, we can work something out, we really need you, yada. So she got her four days. She worked there about 2 more years, then retired.
She had quite a bit of snarky push-back from the 23-year olds doing admin. "Must be nice to work four days," blah blah. They seemed to not grasp that once you've worked somewhere 30 years, you might be valuable enough to work on *your* terms.

AnnaGrowsAMustache

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2272 on: March 26, 2018, 01:29:22 AM »
I knew a legal admin assistant, very experienced, with the same law firm for thirty years. At some point when she was over sixty, she went in to the partner who made the decisions about staffing, and said, "I'd really like to work 4 days instead of 5. I need the extra day, I don't have the energy I used to." She had a pretty serious hip condition, and she just kept working, never complained about it. She was finding herself still really fatigued after the weekend, and knew she needed to back off work.
"Oh," he says. "Well. That's just not possible. You can't work four days! We need you here, the office is open five days not four, etc." End of discussion.
"Alright," she says. "I thought you might say that, and I understand. And 'm not in a position to work five days anymore. And so I have this for you." And she puts a letter of resignation on his desk, which she had already done. And his eyes go round. He started back-pedalling immediately. Oh, wait, we can work something out, we really need you, yada. So she got her four days. She worked there about 2 more years, then retired.
She had quite a bit of snarky push-back from the 23-year olds doing admin. "Must be nice to work four days," blah blah. They seemed to not grasp that once you've worked somewhere 30 years, you might be valuable enough to work on *your* terms.

You don't even have to work somewhere 30 years. All you need is a bit of money, and the gumption to say what you want. Employment is a transaction. I decide what my side of that transaction consists of.

mm1970

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2273 on: March 26, 2018, 10:45:17 AM »
I knew a legal admin assistant, very experienced, with the same law firm for thirty years. At some point when she was over sixty, she went in to the partner who made the decisions about staffing, and said, "I'd really like to work 4 days instead of 5. I need the extra day, I don't have the energy I used to." She had a pretty serious hip condition, and she just kept working, never complained about it. She was finding herself still really fatigued after the weekend, and knew she needed to back off work.
"Oh," he says. "Well. That's just not possible. You can't work four days! We need you here, the office is open five days not four, etc." End of discussion.
"Alright," she says. "I thought you might say that, and I understand. And 'm not in a position to work five days anymore. And so I have this for you." And she puts a letter of resignation on his desk, which she had already done. And his eyes go round. He started back-pedalling immediately. Oh, wait, we can work something out, we really need you, yada. So she got her four days. She worked there about 2 more years, then retired.
She had quite a bit of snarky push-back from the 23-year olds doing admin. "Must be nice to work four days," blah blah. They seemed to not grasp that once you've worked somewhere 30 years, you might be valuable enough to work on *your* terms.
Yes, I  worked less than 40 hours for a bit after I had my kids.  At my current company, a year of it - mat leave for 10 weeks, then 25 hrs a week for a  few weeks, then 32 hrs a week for the rest of the first year.

So I have many many coworkers around the age of 60-62.  And one of them, in particular I've known forever.  His kids are grown.  His wife works (which is different than most of the other 60-62 year olds, many of them have SAH spouses.)  So, he decided he wanted to "ease" his way into retirement.  Keeping up our pace of a semiconductor company, where these guys are either PhDs or directors doing lots of brain work, is a challenge.  So he asked me what my deal was back then, because he wants to keep the insurance.  At our company, that requires 30 hrs a week (he was hoping for 25).

Anyway, he made the switch.  One guy in particular is so snarky about how "nice" it must be to only work 30 hours.  I pointed out that he gets paid less.  "But we get paid for 40 and work 50!"  Well, that's your deal, right?  The guy who cut his hours is still salaried, so if he works 35 he only gets paid for 30.

albireo13

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2274 on: April 03, 2018, 05:18:11 AM »
Is your nose brown??

[MOD NOTE: Forum Rule #1]


I want to apologize for my post.  I was in a bad mood from work when I posted.  That's not an excuse.  I violated common decency guidelines.
It won't happen again.

  Best to all.


Adventine

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2275 on: April 03, 2018, 06:17:01 AM »
Is your nose brown??

[MOD NOTE: Forum Rule #1]


I want to apologize for my post.  I was in a bad mood from work when I posted.  That's not an excuse.  I violated common decency guidelines.
It won't happen again.

  Best to all.



Thanks, Frugal Toque and other consistently nice, decent people on this forum.

Also, albireo13, based on your recent posting history, a break from your own job could be a really good idea :)

Maenad

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2276 on: April 04, 2018, 09:29:47 AM »
DH is using our FU money now, and I'm glad to have the option myself.

First Issue:
DH has been really unhappy at work, largely due to an irreconcilable difference between what he thought he was hired for, and what executive leadership thought he was hired for. He had a serious argument with his grandboss, where things were said. Things you can't take back. Our FU money meant that he was able to give notice today after we had a "financial summit" over the weekend and saw how easily we could keep going on my salary alone (FU money is a backstop for emergencies). He's been job hunting, but is free to leave before finding something new.

Second Issue:
I get along great with my boss. Just found out he's moving to another division within the company. His position will be back-filled, but with who? Will I get along with the new person? After hearing plenty of "new boss" horror stories, I'm glad to have the option to leave if things get ugly.

Livingthedream55

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2277 on: April 04, 2018, 10:43:05 AM »
DH is using our FU money now, and I'm glad to have the option myself.

First Issue:
DH has been really unhappy at work, largely due to an irreconcilable difference between what he thought he was hired for, and what executive leadership thought he was hired for. He had a serious argument with his grandboss, where things were said. Things you can't take back. Our FU money meant that he was able to give notice today after we had a "financial summit" over the weekend and saw how easily we could keep going on my salary alone (FU money is a backstop for emergencies). He's been job hunting, but is free to leave before finding something new.

Second Issue:
I get along great with my boss. Just found out he's moving to another division within the company. His position will be back-filled, but with who? Will I get along with the new person? After hearing plenty of "new boss" horror stories, I'm glad to have the option to leave if things get ugly.

Indeed. It's about freedom. It's very different when going to work everyday is a choice not a necessity. I have "enough" for bare bones FIRE now but am padding my safety net/fun "stache" so my retirement next year will be more comfortable. But if work ever became toxic - I'd be out that door!

frugalnacho

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2278 on: April 04, 2018, 02:33:31 PM »
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.

Well there was no bonus for me, or anyone at my office, or anyone in the entire region.  My review/raise scheduled for March 1 hasn't happened yet either.  I've brought it up a few times by this point. 

2017 shaped up that I actually made less money than I did in 2016.  Even after getting a $13k raise from the initial offer, once you factor in the excessive medical premiums and no bonus I made less.  2018 is looking like it's going to be even worse than 2017 (since I'll be with the new company the full year instead of only 5 months like in 2017).

I should have buffed up my resume and been out of here by this point, but I didn't want to cause too much stress to myself or my household by changing careers at the same time as having our first baby.  The baby just screams all night long, so I haven't slept in 5 months and have no time to network or apply to jobs when at home.  I also don't have time to do literally anything.  The last 5 months have been a living hell at home with no sleep, no hobbies, no intimacy, no nothing but dealing with a crying baby.  We have just enough time to cook dinner and clean up, and do laundry, and that all comes at the expense of getting sleep.

The unlimited vacation is a sham, and I'm convinced the company has ulterior motives in offering it.  With the new responsibilities there is never any idle time where I can just fuck off and take vacation.  There is always urgent stuff that needs attention.  But with an unlimited vacation policy they don't have to keep a vacation liability on the books for any of the senior staff, making the books look better.  They also won't have to pay out any accrued vacation when someone leaves, because you don't ever accrue any vacation.

I'd like to start abusing the vacation policy and being a lot more lax at work, but the problem is that I have a personal and professional reputation to uphold, and when I do get another job I will likely work with many of the same people in the industry.  I don't want to shoot myself in the foot by turning in sloppy work or turning in work late, so I feel obligated to deliver quality work still even though I'm fed up with the company.  I don't want to just quit and have a black hole on my resume either, even though I have FU money. 

dandarc

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2279 on: April 04, 2018, 02:59:16 PM »
That sucks frugalnacho. 

You've hit the nail on the head with the unlimited vacation thing - if the workload alone doesn't get everyone to stop taking vacation, a culture will develop to the same end anyway.  You either call bullshit and take time off anyway or leave.

Best of luck getting out.  In my experience, sloppy is the big thing to avoid - you're just creating more work for yourself later when you rush things.  Late almost never has consequences, because at least where I'm at now, any deadlines are fantasies anyway.

mm1970

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2280 on: April 04, 2018, 04:08:23 PM »
Quote
Well there was no bonus for me, or anyone at my office, or anyone in the entire region.  My review/raise scheduled for March 1 hasn't happened yet either.  I've brought it up a few times by this point. 

2017 shaped up that I actually made less money than I did in 2016.  Even after getting a $13k raise from the initial offer, once you factor in the excessive medical premiums and no bonus I made less.  2018 is looking like it's going to be even worse than 2017 (since I'll be with the new company the full year instead of only 5 months like in 2017).

I should have buffed up my resume and been out of here by this point, but I didn't want to cause too much stress to myself or my household by changing careers at the same time as having our first baby.  The baby just screams all night long, so I haven't slept in 5 months and have no time to network or apply to jobs when at home.  I also don't have time to do literally anything.  The last 5 months have been a living hell at home with no sleep, no hobbies, no intimacy, no nothing but dealing with a crying baby.  We have just enough time to cook dinner and clean up, and do laundry, and that all comes at the expense of getting sleep.

The unlimited vacation is a sham, and I'm convinced the company has ulterior motives in offering it.  With the new responsibilities there is never any idle time where I can just fuck off and take vacation.  There is always urgent stuff that needs attention.  But with an unlimited vacation policy they don't have to keep a vacation liability on the books for any of the senior staff, making the books look better.  They also won't have to pay out any accrued vacation when someone leaves, because you don't ever accrue any vacation.

I'd like to start abusing the vacation policy and being a lot more lax at work, but the problem is that I have a personal and professional reputation to uphold, and when I do get another job I will likely work with many of the same people in the industry.  I don't want to shoot myself in the foot by turning in sloppy work or turning in work late, so I feel obligated to deliver quality work still even though I'm fed up with the company.  I don't want to just quit and have a black hole on my resume either, even though I have FU money.

This really sucks.  But all I can tell you is...it will get better?

I've got two kids, and the first 2 years were a total wash.  It was probably a bit better for my husband, but nursing, pumping, lack of sleep, full time job (with #1), 80% job (with #2), didn't matter so much.  With kid #1, I was sick for 5 straight months that first winter.  Healthy 30 days from Nov 1 to March 30.  With kid #2 I worked slightly fewer hours and got sick less - but seriously, the quality and volume of output?  Just. Wasn't.  There.  We basically tread water for 2 years with each.  And then, with both kids, right around age 4 you start coming out of the fog.  Now that the little 1 is 6?  I feel almost completely human.

So, my advice would be to keep your head down until you are out of the fob.  Don't worry too much about switching jobs.  Take advantage of flexibility and unlimited PTO.  The hardest thing for me for both kids was getting into the habit of walking out the door at 3:30 pm, when I was used to leaving at 5:30 or 6 pm.  It feels weird.  But you get used to it.  The key thing to remember is that when you are there, you are working.  You are doing good work.  In order for you to do your BEST work you really do need to chill out a bit.  Take vacation.  Shorter work days.  More sleep (as much as possible, anyway, my kids were not good sleepers.)  You will NOT be judged poorly for this if you are getting a lot of  your work done.

The key to refreshing yourself with a vacation is to just take it.  "There's never any time to fuck off."  You aren't fucking off.  You are taking time off.  It might be
- A Friday and a Monday four-day weekend
- A week in Hawaii
- A trip to visit family

The thing is to schedule it.  I mean, schedule it, put it on the calendar, and let everyone know it's happening.  You don't even need to buy plane tickets, just tell people you did.  Don't think that "eh, some day I'm going to just take a Friday off."  That, man, never happens.

Finally, for what it's worth, I started interviewing when my kids were 2.  Changed jobs when kid #1 was 2.5, interviewed when kid #2 was 2 (ended up not changing at that point).  I had a long stretch of no raises, crappy pay, and ended up just cutting my hours way way back because I'm salaried.  And yes, that meant leaving early some days. Coming in late on other days.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel - always keep your finger on the local job market pulse, because you never know.

frugalnacho

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2281 on: April 04, 2018, 06:34:06 PM »
That sucks frugalnacho. 

You've hit the nail on the head with the unlimited vacation thing - if the workload alone doesn't get everyone to stop taking vacation, a culture will develop to the same end anyway.  You either call bullshit and take time off anyway or leave.

Best of luck getting out.  In my experience, sloppy is the big thing to avoid - you're just creating more work for yourself later when you rush things.  Late almost never has consequences, because at least where I'm at now, any deadlines are fantasies anyway.

I did get 3 weeks paternity in november, plus the office shut down for a week over xmas.  I've probably taken 4-5 fridays off in addition to that.  I haven't scheduled another vacation, was kind of waiting for the whole review/raise thing before I started pushing my luck.  But if they aren't going to give a raise, and they aren't doing bonuses, I have no real incentive to bust my ass above and beyond not getting fired.  Well that and my personal/professional reputation.  I will likely end up working for one of our clients or another consulting firm we deal with.  I could end up some where else entirely, but why shut down those opportunities?

I deal with the EPA and the state level equivalents, so most of my deadlines are hard deadlines.

I'm getting my resume in order, starting to network, and talking to recruiters.  I don't know if I'm going to jump ship now, but I'm going to be open to any good opportunities should they present themselves.

frugalnacho

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2282 on: April 04, 2018, 06:58:45 PM »
This really sucks.  But all I can tell you is...it will get better?

I've got two kids, and the first 2 years were a total wash.  It was probably a bit better for my husband, but nursing, pumping, lack of sleep, full time job (with #1), 80% job (with #2), didn't matter so much.  With kid #1, I was sick for 5 straight months that first winter.  Healthy 30 days from Nov 1 to March 30.  With kid #2 I worked slightly fewer hours and got sick less - but seriously, the quality and volume of output?  Just. Wasn't.  There.  We basically tread water for 2 years with each.  And then, with both kids, right around age 4 you start coming out of the fog.  Now that the little 1 is 6?  I feel almost completely human.

So, my advice would be to keep your head down until you are out of the fob.  Don't worry too much about switching jobs.  Take advantage of flexibility and unlimited PTO.  The hardest thing for me for both kids was getting into the habit of walking out the door at 3:30 pm, when I was used to leaving at 5:30 or 6 pm.  It feels weird.  But you get used to it.  The key thing to remember is that when you are there, you are working.  You are doing good work.  In order for you to do your BEST work you really do need to chill out a bit.  Take vacation.  Shorter work days.  More sleep (as much as possible, anyway, my kids were not good sleepers.)  You will NOT be judged poorly for this if you are getting a lot of  your work done.

The key to refreshing yourself with a vacation is to just take it.  "There's never any time to fuck off."  You aren't fucking off.  You are taking time off.  It might be
- A Friday and a Monday four-day weekend
- A week in Hawaii
- A trip to visit family

The thing is to schedule it.  I mean, schedule it, put it on the calendar, and let everyone know it's happening.  You don't even need to buy plane tickets, just tell people you did.  Don't think that "eh, some day I'm going to just take a Friday off."  That, man, never happens.

Finally, for what it's worth, I started interviewing when my kids were 2.  Changed jobs when kid #1 was 2.5, interviewed when kid #2 was 2 (ended up not changing at that point).  I had a long stretch of no raises, crappy pay, and ended up just cutting my hours way way back because I'm salaried.  And yes, that meant leaving early some days. Coming in late on other days.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel - always keep your finger on the local job market pulse, because you never know.

I know I'm not fucking off, but there always seems to be something going on that makes it so I shouldn't be taking vacation.  Big job going on, or having just gone on, or just coming up.  Or a back log of reports that needs to be done.  Right now we've got like 5 big clients that all need their reports asap. So "fucking off" this week is not ideal...but it's always like this! We are always busy!  And I don't get over time.  And I apparently don't get a bonus. So maybe I should just schedule myself a vacation soon.

Rowellen

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2283 on: April 04, 2018, 09:22:06 PM »
Yes do it. Schedule that vacation and take it. Just think. The company won't give a shit if work dries up and they need to lay people off. They won't hesitate to shaft you. You don't owe them your loyalty. The work will be done by someone else while you're away or it will wait until you return. Either way, you are entitled to time off and you need to take it or you will lose it.

firelight

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2284 on: April 05, 2018, 04:13:08 AM »
Another person here with unlimited vacation policy company. My bosses are pretty good in taking vacations and don't discourage people from taking theirs. I usually pencil in atleast a day every month or two as mental health days and take them. I run errands, have a relaxed day without kids and generally putter around the house. Also I've found that in companies with unlimited vacation policy, the work never ends and it's always urgent. You have to be the adult and take the vacation when you need them.

BlueHouse

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2285 on: April 05, 2018, 08:47:04 AM »

I deal with the EPA and the state level equivalents, so most of my deadlines are hard deadlines.


There may be a high-level job opening coming open soon at the EPA.  And if it does, I know where you can get a real cheap (but still "market rate") apartment for commuting.  haha

Ananas

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2286 on: April 05, 2018, 11:27:10 AM »
I know I'm not fucking off, but there always seems to be something going on that makes it so I shouldn't be taking vacation.  Big job going on, or having just gone on, or just coming up.  Or a back log of reports that needs to be done.  Right now we've got like 5 big clients that all need their reports asap. So "fucking off" this week is not ideal...but it's always like this! We are always busy!  And I don't get over time.  And I apparently don't get a bonus. So maybe I should just schedule myself a vacation soon.

If you schedule it well in advance, then it should be fine. I have adopted the following mindset: your lack of planning and foresight (boss/company) are not my emergency.

frugalnacho

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2287 on: April 06, 2018, 10:17:01 AM »
Well I just got $6k/yr out of cycle raise today, and a promise that regular review/raises are happening for the entire office (including me) in July.

It's like they know how to give just enough to keep me on board.

Dicey

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2288 on: April 06, 2018, 10:38:14 AM »
Well I just got $6k/yr out of cycle raise today, and a promise that regular review/raises are happening for the entire office (including me) in July.

It's like they know how to give just enough to keep me on board.
At least they've figured that out...so many are clueless.  Congratulations!

solon

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2289 on: April 06, 2018, 10:44:02 AM »
Well I just got $6k/yr out of cycle raise today, and a promise that regular review/raises are happening for the entire office (including me) in July.

It's like they know how to give just enough to keep me on board.

Yeah, I'm having a hard time drumming up any empathy...

frugalnacho

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2290 on: April 06, 2018, 11:45:41 AM »
Well I just got $6k/yr out of cycle raise today, and a promise that regular review/raises are happening for the entire office (including me) in July.

It's like they know how to give just enough to keep me on board.

Yeah, I'm having a hard time drumming up any empathy...

Once you factor in the excessive medical premiums the new company passes to employees*, and the fact that they fucked everyone on a bonus (which I received 12/12 years I worked here before the acquisition) this new $6k raise on top of the $13k raise I fought for at the start, it pretty much just puts me back to what I was earning before the acquisition.  $19k/yr sounds like a lot, but $10k/yr more in medical premiums and a forgone $9k/yr bonus works out to around $19k.  They are acting like they are doing me some huge favor by giving me back the salary they cut from me last year.

*My medical deductions went from around $1.5k/yr to almost $12k/yr.  This year I've switched to a HDHP that is only costing me $6k, but now I have to pay out of pocket for everything.  I was hoping to save money, but with the amount of dr visits for the baby I think my overall medical expenses are going to be the same as the shitty plan last year.

mm1970

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2291 on: April 06, 2018, 01:34:45 PM »
Well I just got $6k/yr out of cycle raise today, and a promise that regular review/raises are happening for the entire office (including me) in July.

It's like they know how to give just enough to keep me on board.

Yeah, I'm having a hard time drumming up any empathy...

Once you factor in the excessive medical premiums the new company passes to employees*, and the fact that they fucked everyone on a bonus (which I received 12/12 years I worked here before the acquisition) this new $6k raise on top of the $13k raise I fought for at the start, it pretty much just puts me back to what I was earning before the acquisition.  $19k/yr sounds like a lot, but $10k/yr more in medical premiums and a forgone $9k/yr bonus works out to around $19k.  They are acting like they are doing me some huge favor by giving me back the salary they cut from me last year.

*My medical deductions went from around $1.5k/yr to almost $12k/yr.  This year I've switched to a HDHP that is only costing me $6k, but now I have to pay out of pocket for everything.  I was hoping to save money, but with the amount of dr visits for the baby I think my overall medical expenses are going to be the same as the shitty plan last year.

This seems to be par for the course on acquisitions - take stuff away and see how much you'll put up with.  I think it's worth looking around.

The good thing about interviewing around is that...you figure out what you are worth. Sometimes, the job market isn't great and you aren't worth what you think you are.  And of course, that varies by location and year.  Sometimes, you go out there and realize that you are WAY underpaid.

I've seen both in my town in the last 5 years.  Some have quit and gotten screwed (but ended up fine in the end after another move or two).  Some have gotten laid off and are making 50% more than they were here.  I'm still "here" and yay, I got a promotion and a raise, but I know very well that I'm now making exactly what the two lower paid engineers were hired at ... in 2011. 

NykkiC

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2292 on: April 06, 2018, 11:10:39 PM »
Well I just got $6k/yr out of cycle raise today, and a promise that regular review/raises are happening for the entire office (including me) in July.

It's like they know how to give just enough to keep me on board.

Yeah, I'm having a hard time drumming up any empathy...

Once you factor in the excessive medical premiums the new company passes to employees*, and the fact that they fucked everyone on a bonus (which I received 12/12 years I worked here before the acquisition) this new $6k raise on top of the $13k raise I fought for at the start, it pretty much just puts me back to what I was earning before the acquisition.  $19k/yr sounds like a lot, but $10k/yr more in medical premiums and a forgone $9k/yr bonus works out to around $19k.  They are acting like they are doing me some huge favor by giving me back the salary they cut from me last year.

*My medical deductions went from around $1.5k/yr to almost $12k/yr.  This year I've switched to a HDHP that is only costing me $6k, but now I have to pay out of pocket for everything.  I was hoping to save money, but with the amount of dr visits for the baby I think my overall medical expenses are going to be the same as the shitty plan last year.

Personally, I wouldn’t be quiet about this (not saying you are, just that I wouldn’t be). Any time someone called this a raise, I would politely (but firmly) reply that it was restoring some of the (arbitrary) cuts to my remuneration package. Depending on the audience, I might even point out that I am still worse off than before (due to higher cost of the out of pocket expenses on the new healthcare plan, if I’m reading it right).

Words have power, as does the time frame chosen to assess things on, and some of that power is subconscious. When you add that managers usually have the pressure to keep costs down, I would be concerned that the “raise” you got would (subconsciously or consciously) cause the person doing the review to think ‘NykkiC got a raise recently, there are others who should get one before her.’

But that could just be my paranoia.
« Last Edit: April 09, 2018, 04:33:39 AM by NykkiC »

BlueHouse

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2293 on: April 08, 2018, 08:40:53 PM »

Personally, I wouldn’t be quiet about this (not saying you are, just that I wouldn’t be). Any time someone called this a raise, I would politely (but firmly) reply that it was restoring some of the (arbitrary) cuts to my remuneration package. Depending on the audience, I might even point out that I am still worse off than before (due to higher cost of the out of pocket expenses on the new healthcare plan, if I’m reading it right).

Words have power, as does the time frame chosen to assess things on, and some of that power is subconscious. When you add that managers usually have the pressure to keep costs down, I would be concerned that the “raise” you got would (subconsciously or consciously) cause the person doing the review to think ‘NykkiC got a raise recently, there are others who should get one before him.’

But that could just be my paranoia.
+1.  Brilliant

Prairie Stash

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2294 on: April 13, 2018, 11:45:21 AM »
I'm so very happy.

My wife just used the FU money a couple hours ago. She has been employed at 60% time; 24 hours/week tuesday - thursday (3-8 hour shifts). This schedule started after her return from maternity leave so that she could spend more time with the kids and stay employed. It was the optimal solution for us, everyone was happy and we kept on saving. The kids have a little time away from us with other kids, we get more time than we use to with the kids.

Yesterday she was told thats coming to an end, she needs to go to full time. As she is late 30's with two kids, I think her supervisor expected compliance, I think it came as a surprse when my wife wanted to mull it over. As in all these caes the unspoken alternative was she's out of work, no one ever thinks people will consider that option. Luckily for us, we have a decent stash, she isn't bound by normal conventions of needing to cover rent and can live the life she wants. Still, its pretty scary to be confronted with it even after all this preparation.

In case it needs to be said, she said No to returning to full time work. The unspoken alternative is still not being whispered out loud, it happened so fast that I don't think its sunk in yet. I have no idea yet if they'll try to keep her or let her go, I suspect they feel she's bluffing. She still wants to work at 60%, but shes willing to never work again, I'm also sitting on the precipice of FIRE, we're just saving so we can live a few years overseas as a family at this point.

It just makes me so happy that she can make her choice. If she's out of work, her last day should fall on our anniversary. I think that will gurantee I'm husband of the year which is great; however looking forward I'm pretty much going to be a dissapointment for the rest of our anniversaries though, this is impossible to beat.
Update:
So she delayed the actual end date to make sure she got the annual bonus. Then a little more to get some health benefits; we get drug plans so we stocked up on drugs. The delay was interesting in that it added 2 days of work to her schedule (on top of the regular days) but probably gained us $3500-4000 in benefits and bonus (still waiting to see all the numbers).

We pulled out a calendar when we worked out the various end dates at home. We added in public holidays, never quit the day before a holiday (Easter)! Then looked at health benefits, new fiscal calendar, fresh benefits! Then looked at existing holidays to see if we could stretch the schedule out and mimic her current schedule, that added a week of potential work. It was a bit of work but well worth the planning, I highly recommend it to anyone leaving a job.

Although it would have been fun to walk out; the slow leave is going to be very lucrative and extremely satisfying. We still get what we want, plus a little extra. We get to stick to our principles and she doesn't need to sacrifice her life for work, I call that a win. On my end, the extra speeds up my FIRE date, which is looking closer than ever, her departure has really got me thinking.

SwordGuy

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2295 on: April 13, 2018, 01:59:12 PM »
I picked May 1st for 3 reasons:

#1) Most important, it's during my wife's last week of work, grading final exams and papers.  It will make her life easier if I do more chores that week.

#2) May 1st is a Tuesday.  The preceding Friday and Monday are paid holidays.   Why turn down free money?

#3) May 1st is International Worker's Day.   "Workers of the World, Unite!  You have nothing to lose but your chains!"   I'm losing my chains on that day, for sure!

mm1970

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2296 on: April 13, 2018, 02:17:59 PM »
I'm so very happy.

My wife just used the FU money a couple hours ago. She has been employed at 60% time; 24 hours/week tuesday - thursday (3-8 hour shifts). This schedule started after her return from maternity leave so that she could spend more time with the kids and stay employed. It was the optimal solution for us, everyone was happy and we kept on saving. The kids have a little time away from us with other kids, we get more time than we use to with the kids.

Yesterday she was told thats coming to an end, she needs to go to full time. As she is late 30's with two kids, I think her supervisor expected compliance, I think it came as a surprse when my wife wanted to mull it over. As in all these caes the unspoken alternative was she's out of work, no one ever thinks people will consider that option. Luckily for us, we have a decent stash, she isn't bound by normal conventions of needing to cover rent and can live the life she wants. Still, its pretty scary to be confronted with it even after all this preparation.

In case it needs to be said, she said No to returning to full time work. The unspoken alternative is still not being whispered out loud, it happened so fast that I don't think its sunk in yet. I have no idea yet if they'll try to keep her or let her go, I suspect they feel she's bluffing. She still wants to work at 60%, but shes willing to never work again, I'm also sitting on the precipice of FIRE, we're just saving so we can live a few years overseas as a family at this point.

It just makes me so happy that she can make her choice. If she's out of work, her last day should fall on our anniversary. I think that will gurantee I'm husband of the year which is great; however looking forward I'm pretty much going to be a dissapointment for the rest of our anniversaries though, this is impossible to beat.
Update:
So she delayed the actual end date to make sure she got the annual bonus. Then a little more to get some health benefits; we get drug plans so we stocked up on drugs. The delay was interesting in that it added 2 days of work to her schedule (on top of the regular days) but probably gained us $3500-4000 in benefits and bonus (still waiting to see all the numbers).

We pulled out a calendar when we worked out the various end dates at home. We added in public holidays, never quit the day before a holiday (Easter)! Then looked at health benefits, new fiscal calendar, fresh benefits! Then looked at existing holidays to see if we could stretch the schedule out and mimic her current schedule, that added a week of potential work. It was a bit of work but well worth the planning, I highly recommend it to anyone leaving a job.

Although it would have been fun to walk out; the slow leave is going to be very lucrative and extremely satisfying. We still get what we want, plus a little extra. We get to stick to our principles and she doesn't need to sacrifice her life for work, I call that a win. On my end, the extra speeds up my FIRE date, which is looking closer than ever, her departure has really got me thinking.
This is awesome

Bicycle_B

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2297 on: April 13, 2018, 03:28:21 PM »
@SwordGuy and @PrairieStash - wow, great family values as well as financial independence.   AWESOME!!!!!

Paul der Krake

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2298 on: April 13, 2018, 04:06:24 PM »
I picked May 1st for 3 reasons:

#1) Most important, it's during my wife's last week of work, grading final exams and papers.  It will make her life easier if I do more chores that week.

#2) May 1st is a Tuesday.  The preceding Friday and Monday are paid holidays.   Why turn down free money?

#3) May 1st is International Worker's Day.   "Workers of the World, Unite!  You have nothing to lose but your chains!"   I'm losing my chains on that day, for sure!
#4 subsidized health insurance for the rest of the month

crispy

  • Guest
Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #2299 on: April 13, 2018, 05:05:10 PM »
Nice stories!

Having a stash gives you options and let's you take risk. I posted a month ago about possibly making a jump from a very stressful job I really enjoy to promotional position within the same organization for more money, but a worse commute. I decided to make the leap because I really have nothing to lose. If I hate it, I can afford to quit. I ended up with a 50% pay increase and am loving it so far. My stress level has gone way down.

Sadly, I had so many people at the other place say they wish they could leave but are too afraid that it won't work out and they will be unemployed (jobs are protected after a probationary period and transfers or promotions start that period over). It makes me sad that fear and money worked limit people.