Author Topic: Epic FU money stories  (Read 2794925 times)

Nords

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #300 on: July 04, 2014, 10:51:39 PM »
Epic FU money?  How about giving up $750K-$1M in salary & pension?

http://the-military-guide.com/2013/12/12/hanging-on-for-the-military-pension/

As most of you have read by now, I stayed on active duty for 20 years to vest my military pension.  In retrospect that was about eight years too long for my physical & mental health, but I survived the stress.  I should have gone Reserves as soon as my career peaked at the 12-year point, but I was ignorant and overworked and too afraid to even pay serious attention to the Reservists around me.  I didn't understand how a Reserve pension worked, and fear was the main reason I kept chasing those paychecks. 

In 1999, three years before my retirement, my active-duty spouse was picking up the wrong kind of signals from her assignment officer.  She was at her 16-year point, where they know that you're motivated by the pension and unlikely to resign from active duty.  An assignment officer's rationale is that "Needs of the Navy" take precedence over personal (and family) priorities.  My spouse was needed in Norfolk or Yokosuka, but she couldn't stay in Hawaii.

Up until this point the Navy had kept us dual-military spouses together, but now I was on my final tour and my assignment officer had no reason to send me to my spouse's new homeport.  Her orders would be an unaccompanied tour.  My daughter and I would stay in Hawaii until I retired (18-24 months after Mom left) and then we'd go to Mom's duty station. 

We all wanted to feel at home in a place that has the things we like and is closer to Hawaii.  We didn't want to try to live in a foreign land with an unfamiliar culture and no friends-- so my spouse chose Yokosuka.

We resigned ourselves (yet again) to the inevitable and began talking about the family logistics.  One afternoon on the way home from 3rd grade, my daughter broke down in tears.  She only knew a few words of Japanese and she didn't think that she'd be able to learn enough in time to handle the schools.  I explained to her that she'd go to an English-speaking school (on base) where they'd also teach her Japanese, but her feelings made clear that she wasn't happy about being separated from Mom-- and then having to leave her friends (and Hawaii) to get Mom back.

I wasn't very happy about the separation either, although I was in supportive-spouse mode.  But this would be our 14th move, dammit, and I'd had enough.  We'd been in Hawaii since 1989 but we'd had to leave once before ('94-'97 in San Diego) so we knew we wanted to retire in Hawaii.  We were definitely not interested in moving just so that my spouse could check a career block before retiring from active duty.

Things came to a head in early 2000 when my spouse and I were tweaking our transfer plan.  She mentioned that a friend had recommended great family counselors in both Hawaii and Yoko to help us deal with the unaccompanied tour.  When it became clear that this career move might require the assistance of mental-health professionals, we finally asked ourselves:  "Why are we doing this?!?"

I ran the numbers.  If she resigned from active duty and joined the Reserves, then my pension and our savings should bridge the gap until her Reserve pension started in 2022.  By resigning from active duty now (and giving up an active-duty pension in 2003) she'd pass up at least $750K while awaiting her Reserve pension.  Depending on the cost-of-living adjustments to the active-duty pension, the forsaken amount could've been over $1M. 

Her attitude was "Well, if we run out of money then I can always get a real job."  She drafted her resignation letter that night, had her CO endorse it the next morning, and faxed it in to BUPERS before lunch. 

Nobody took her seriously.  A Navy officer's resignation letter can give 12 months' notice, so it's traditionally regarded as merely the start of serious poker negotiations, and the assignment officer ignored her bluff.  He issued her resignation orders, which he expected her to cancel at any minute.  He found her a relief and stopped returning her calls.  We ran our financial numbers again-- still good.  (We didn't appreciate that the stock markets had reached their peak.)  We attended my retirement seminar together and became even more firmly convinced that she'd made the right choice.

In June 2000 we stumbled across our dream home four miles over in the next neighborhood.  Bigger house, better school system, bigger yard, fantastic views.  It was absolutely filthy and in crappy material condition but it has good bones for DIY sweat equity.  It was the pits of Hawaii's decade-long real estate recession, the sellers were desperate, the price was ridiculously low, and our conclusion was "We have to buy this place".  We closed the deal and rented out our old home.  Surprisingly our FI numbers still (barely) worked.  Hey, I could always get a real job too.

You military veterans know what comes next:  we used my spouse's resignation orders to ship our household goods at the Navy's expense.

When the assignment officer saw the invoice, he went nuts.  "Do you realize what you've done?!?  When you cancel your resignation and go to Yoko, you're going to have to pay that back!!"  Spouse got her CO's finger-wagging lecture on "Are you sure you know what you're doing?  I don't think you appreciate the significance of your mistake."  Coworkers asked "Are you guys OK?  Have you started your job search yet?"  None of them could even spell FI, let alone FIRE.

Surprisingly enough, our numbers still worked.  We were hugely leveraged (with an 8% mortgage!) and a job could certainly provide a safety margin, but our rental would offset our gargantuan mortgage payments.  The stock market was a little shaky by late 2000, but we were finally staying in Hawaii.

When she left active duty in May 2001 she had 17 years, 11 months, and 10 days.  She affiliated with the PACOM Reserve unit the next day. 

The stock markets sucked, but our ohana quality of life took a prompt jump.  My spouse spent the first few months taking naps and getting her life back.  During Reserve drill weekends she found a whole new Navy community that appreciated what she could do.  We dug into the DIY home improvement on our new home.  Our daughter thrived in the new school with her new friends.  I cruised on down my retirement glide slope.

Then 9/11 happened. 

When the stock markets re-opened on 17 September 2001, I ran the numbers one again.  Our portfolio was melting down like an ice cube at the beach and the college fund was in jeopardy, but we still had... barely enough.  I retired in June 2002.  We cut expenses and delayed our home improvements, and October 2002 was ugly, and we ate through our cash reserves, but by 2003 we were back on track. 

"Losing" $750K-$1M has not affected our lifestyle one bit.  Pursuing it would have wrecked our family.

No regrets. 

arebelspy

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #301 on: July 04, 2014, 10:58:04 PM »
I've read it before, and I enjoyed it even more this time.  I love your wife's story Nords, and what she has done since then (the various volunteer work).  It's one of my favorite ER stories.  So awesome.
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

dragoncar

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #302 on: July 04, 2014, 11:08:14 PM »

Quote
Yeah, nobody HAS to leave bridges intact.  Some could burn them.

Deciding you don't have to do XYZ task or project, or even that you don't have to work there is not burning a bridge. 

That was in response to this:

Quote
We've had more than one person just stop showing up, or email a resignation letter while they are on vacation (with the last day of work conveniently falling on a future date that they are still on vacation), or agree to take on a big project and then turn around and put an "I resign effective immediately" letter under the boss's door after hours

All of which is definitely bridge burning.

paddedhat

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #303 on: July 05, 2014, 06:17:33 AM »

Guppy in the radiator? (a special smell when the heat fires up)
Shrimp in the hollow space of a curtain rod?
Drop a steamer in a desk drawer right before the weekend and break the key off in the lock?
Annoy-a-trons placed in a few offices?
Offer the boss a "chocolate-covered" pretzel?
Leave a tray of ex lax brownies for all in the break room?

There are lots of ways to skin that cat.


A good friend of mine had a small business doing appliance installation and repair.  One day he reports to a mansion just outside of NYC, and spent several hours installing a downdraft exhaust on a new range. He presents the bill to the owner, and expects a check. The owner is a professional body builder, who looks down at my buddy and says, " FU, I'm not paying you, get out" When asked what the issue is, the customer just states that he doesn't have to pay, so get out.  A few weeks later my buddy is surf fishing and lands a serious fish. He waits for darkness, and heads to the muscle head's mansion. He jumps the wall, unscrews the grille from the range exhaust, and using a broom handle, pushes his catch about ten feet into the ductwork under the kitchen........

G-dog

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #304 on: July 05, 2014, 09:09:31 AM »
Not quite FU stories, but at least Some FU attitude:
I left me first job after college (without FU$) after my boss lied to me about a promotion "the university won't let me promote anyone until they are a co-author on a paper."  Bulshit - the university doesn't give a crap and had all the criteria explicitly listed AND I had turned down an offer to be a co-author on a paper because I thought I hadn't done enough work on that project. So, I found another job (in the same dept) and gave my 2.weeks notice.  Boss tells me it is unprofessional to give only 2weeks notice, a professional (salaried person) should give at least a month. I checked with the new boss, and he says 'fine'.  The next day, the soon-to-be ex-boss asks me if there is anything he can do to get me to stay - I  said 'no' ( but WISH I had said, go see what you can do an let me know --- and THEN I could have turned him down).
At the current job, a co-worker at a higher pay band interrupts a meeting I am having with one of his peers and proceeds to yell at both of us.  Our boss was in town, so I march right to their office, relate the story and say 'I WILL NOT be treated like this!'.  YES - I have FU money and I know I can walk out and be fine for a year or more. The other person who got yelled at has big time school debt, and is quiet as a church mouse (and continued to get abused by the yeller).  The yeller got in trouble, and never yelled at me again, and we mostly just avoided each other when possible.
So, as others have said, FU money gives you more (better) options, even if you don't pull the penultimate trigger.

vern

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #305 on: July 05, 2014, 02:28:32 PM »
We didn't want to try to live in a foreign land with an unfamiliar culture and no friends-- so my spouse chose Yokosuka.

Har!  Great stuff Nords!

EarlyRetirementGuy

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #306 on: July 08, 2014, 08:43:45 AM »
Not as epic as some stories in here, but mine came with a double FU!

A couple of years ago, my partner and I both started working at a local restaurant to supplement our incomes from our other jobs. While we both liked the job, we hated the manager.

He was your typical loud mouthed, arrogant, rude and demeaning boss who believed everything he did was right.

Things eventually came to a head when he started yelling at me one day in the kitchen infront of everyone about some 'compulsory' training I hadnt completed yet. I told him that he hadnt given me any time to do this training while at work and with my other job I didnt have time to do it at home. In the UK it is actually a legal requirement that you are paid to do all compulsory training however he conveniently forgot that fact and demanded I do all training in my own time.

Halfway through his rant, I held up my hand and very calmly said: "I dont come to work to be yelled at so I'm going to be quitting right now. You can continue yelling about things but it doesnt matter from this point onwards. By the way, my partner will also be quitting".

The look on his face was priceless. Luckily my partner and I had both agreed we would quit if either of us wanted to.. and because we both had our other jobs and a large emergency cash pile leaving this one would have no major impacts on us.


jordanread

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #307 on: July 08, 2014, 09:47:20 AM »

Halfway through his rant, I held up my hand and very calmly said: "I dont come to work to be yelled at so I'm going to be quitting right now. You can continue yelling about things but it doesnt matter from this point onwards. By the way, my partner will also be quitting".

The look on his face was priceless. Luckily my partner and I had both agreed we would quit if either of us wanted to.. and because we both had our other jobs and a large emergency cash pile leaving this one would have no major impacts on us.

Teamwork!!

EarlyRetirementGuy

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #308 on: July 09, 2014, 05:57:26 AM »
Teamwork!!

It felt good knowing that my partner would support my decision.

Since then she's found another part time job she enjoys far more and I've picked up alot of weekend overtime for my main job which pays alot more!

G-dog

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #309 on: July 09, 2014, 07:40:39 PM »
I left me first job after college.......

Apparently I was a pirate ...AARRGGHH!

AlmostIndependent

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #310 on: July 11, 2014, 11:49:17 AM »
A good friend of mine had a small business doing appliance installation and repair.  One day he reports to a mansion just outside of NYC, and spent several hours installing a downdraft exhaust on a new range. He presents the bill to the owner, and expects a check. The owner is a professional body builder, who looks down at my buddy and says, " FU, I'm not paying you, get out" When asked what the issue is, the customer just states that he doesn't have to pay, so get out.  A few weeks later my buddy is surf fishing and lands a serious fish. He waits for darkness, and heads to the muscle head's mansion. He jumps the wall, unscrews the grille from the range exhaust, and using a broom handle, pushes his catch about ten feet into the ductwork under the kitchen........

While I like the story a better one would have been the installer putting a mechanic's lien on the mansion and then foreclosing on it!

Agreed.

Unique User

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #311 on: July 13, 2014, 01:42:47 PM »
These are awesome!  I walked out a job right after college.  I was working as a waiter, the GM who regularly screamed and ranted at waitstaff called me a c***.  I had warned her before that if she did that to me that I would leave and did, I handed her my apron and pad and walked out.  Fancy pants restaurant across from the Board of Trade in Chicago on a busy Friday night, only regret was the office job I landed soon after paid half what I made there.  I think I had enough to pay for a couple months of expenses, but don't need much when you're 22.   

avongil

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #312 on: July 13, 2014, 03:12:42 PM »
Nords, that brought a tear to my eye.


Workinghard

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #313 on: July 13, 2014, 03:32:32 PM »
What a great story about priorities, Nords! And look how your daughter turned out and where she's at now. I have no doubt that you made the right decision.

Nords

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #314 on: July 13, 2014, 10:08:59 PM »
Nords, that brought a tear to my eye.
What a great story about priorities, Nords! And look how your daughter turned out and where she's at now. I have no doubt that you made the right decision.
Thanks!

After our daughter finishes her tour on her Rota ship, she'll go to a year of nuclear power training.  She'll follow that up with two years in the engineering department of an aircraft carrier (rarely seeing daylight).  Her carrier homeport choices will be East Coast, West Coast, or... Japan.  I'm pretty sure she won't want to stay in the U.S.

secondcor521

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #315 on: July 16, 2014, 02:58:03 PM »
http://www.departurememo.com/ - more the way I want to be about my departure.

farmstache

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #316 on: July 16, 2014, 04:54:28 PM »
http://www.departurememo.com/ - more the way I want to be about my departure.

Amazing! Wishing her all the luck!

johnintaiwan

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #317 on: July 16, 2014, 07:59:49 PM »
The other teacher at my school is due to leave at the end of them month. Things are getting pretty heated between him and the owner right now. There may be an epic quitting story. The problem though is he has no FU money at all. I think it is gonna be a train wreck.

Daisy

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #318 on: July 16, 2014, 11:52:36 PM »
Check out this lawyer's FU story. She turned it into a cartoon.
https://shine.yahoo.com/work-money/lawyer-quits-her-job-with-most-creative-departure-memo-ever-151105791.html

Her website has the whole cartoon:
http://www.departurememo.com/

Eric

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #319 on: July 17, 2014, 12:06:23 AM »
Hey, have you guys seen this website?  It's a cartoon about a lawyer quitting her job.

http://www.departurememo.com/


Michael792

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #320 on: July 17, 2014, 02:18:40 AM »
Hey everyone, just thought y'all might want to see this: http://www.departurememo.com/

It's a cartoon by a lawyer about quitting her job.

gimp

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #321 on: July 17, 2014, 01:54:33 PM »
Hey guys, what was that website about a lawyer quitting her job?

secondcor521

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #322 on: July 17, 2014, 06:35:50 PM »
Please remove me from this distribution list.  Thank you.

msilenus

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #323 on: July 17, 2014, 07:29:50 PM »
Me too!

allergic2average

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #324 on: July 17, 2014, 09:30:47 PM »
Well I've left a couple of jobs because there was some awful stuff going on, but I had no kind of FU money when I did it (I kind of did the second time but it's complicated), so I don't have a story of my own.

But when I was still working at Wal-Mart, I was witness to the Legend of Frank.

Frank was an older, white haired gentleman who was already a hero, he'd had a long military career and the truth is, he was one of the best employees the store had.  But he had his terms.  He had the only job at Wal-Mart he cared to have, and he worked the only shift he cared to work.

But he'd done so well for so long, no one had a problem with this.  Thing is Frank did not need the money, at all.  He had a military pension, his house was paid for, and he was actually delaying Social Security for a bigger payment because he didn't need it.  He worked for reasons that aren't fathomable to me.  He used the money he made to buy fishing lures and gave a chunk of it away to the Children's Miracle Network and stuff like that.

Now I have good and bad things to say about Wal-Mart.  Right now I'm going to say one of the bad things.

I don't know if this is by some evil design (I doubt it, never ascribe to malignancy that which can be explained by incompetence) or what, but it seems every once in a while some goober in Arkansas, for the hell of it, decides to change the way employees are scheduled or what jobs exist and what they do, and the usual effect of this is it tends to make older, more highly paid workers quit or find themselves in situations where they have to resign because they have a personal situation where they can't start working nights instead of mornings or something like that.

As a graduate of business school myself, I call that MBA thinking, and I say that pejoratively.  Actions like this are necessary sometimes but what I saw was something that some overpaid executive cooked up on a spreadsheet to make it look like he/she found a way to save money when in fact he/she was only shuffling people around and causing operational risks.  If (s)he'd paid attention in business school he'd realize what he/she was doing was in fact pointless.

This is what happens when people under intense pressure to justify their huge six or even seven figure salaries who have never worked in a Wal-Mart store, who think of the company not as people and stores and trucks and groceries and merchandise but rather as abstract numbers, make decisions about the jobs of people they will never meet.  I'm sure these corporate people are perfectly nice people, but I doubt very much that the $11 an hour workers whose fates they manipulate are more than an idea or a piece of the data to them.  Dunbar's number.  Wal-Mart has 2 million employees.  You do the math.

Well anyway, someone decided that Frank's job was too cushy and he needed a new schedule.  They basically took his job and another job, cut half the responsibilities and work from each, and switched them so you wound up with this weird situation where the new job had some of both of the old jobs.  And while it wasn't a completely illogical way to do things, it didn't make sense to the people who actually did this work.  This was a "I'm a smart corporate executive and you are a lowly peon, do what I say" initiative.

When this happens, they usually call you in to an office to tell you it's happened right before the schedules showing the changes come out.  That way they can say they gave you advance notice without really giving you any ability to deal with it.  It's a shitty thing they do because they know so many of their good employees won't quit because Wal-Mart is all they have.

But it didn't pan out for them this time.

Frank looked across at the overnight manager and said no, I won't do it.

The manager, who was a real douchebag, said yes you will and you'll like it (witness as unreliable but I can definitely imagine this guy saying that).

Frank looked at him and unclipped something from his belt and something from his shirt pocket.  He then opened his wallet and removed something.

"Here's my box cutter.  Here's my discount card.  And here's my badge.  That's everything I have of yours.  I'm going home."

Three hours into his shift, Frank turned around and walked out the front door of Wal-Mart and into a legend, vanishing in the darkness of the parking lot.  It threw the rest of us into chaos because we had to pick up the slack, but none of us complained, for he was our hero.  Because at some point, every single one of us had wanted to do that.

Last I heard of Frank, he's doing a lot more fishing nowadays.

The Legend of Frank was epic :)

Gracie

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #325 on: July 17, 2014, 11:46:27 PM »
Update to our FU money story: My husband yelled at the VP of his division a few weeks ago, giving the man a 10-minute lesson in good management technique at the top of his voice. My husband NEVER yells. He said there was a stunned silence in the department. The VP had reprimanded my husband at the front of the office and made some snide remarks. After a few months of this, my husband had enough.

Best part - The VP was apologizing and back-peddling at the end of it. He finally realized he had pushed too far.

dragoncar

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #326 on: July 18, 2014, 10:10:12 AM »
Hey guys, what was that website about a lawyer quitting her job?

I think it was something like goodbye-note.org

Gone Fishing

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #327 on: August 08, 2014, 12:33:38 PM »
Keep them coming!

tyler1215

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #328 on: August 08, 2014, 10:49:39 PM »
It's technically not an FU story, yet, but I constantly remind the senior managers that they only have to put up with me for 10 more years. Each manager, all in their fifties, says the same thing "I wish I could retire in 10 years." That's when I tell them "not you. I'm retiring in 10 years." I'm literally half their age. One manager loves it when I do that to them.

Michael792

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #329 on: August 09, 2014, 01:45:55 AM »
One time, I told my boss I had to quit because I was joining Active Duty and the Army would be sending me to Korea. She was mad at me, even though I was already in the Army and she knew what I planned on doing. Tried to fire me, but I threw my orders at our general manager. Not only did I not get fired, I have a guaranteed place in the company if I come back within five years. Not that I plan to, just kind of a Fuck You to her.

RelaxedGal

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #330 on: August 09, 2014, 06:34:02 AM »
My husband was stressed at work, hated the long commute, being away from our little girl for hours each day and working evenings and weekends from home.  Not unhappy enough to quit, but to look for a new position.  A buddy called, told him a rival company was opening a new office 5 miles from our house.  Won't you join us?

We expected a pay cut, we just didn't know how much.  Having FU money meant it really didn't matter how much, it was going to be work he enjoyed in a better environment and location.  As long as the offer wasn't enough of a paycut that he felt insulted, we agreed that he'd take the position if offered.

The salary offer matched his old salary plus bonuses.  Not an epic FU money story, but the money gave us freedom and confidence.

iris lily

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #331 on: August 09, 2014, 10:16:25 AM »
My husband was stressed at work, hated the long commute, being away from our little girl for hours each day and working evenings and weekends from home.  Not unhappy enough to quit, but to look for a new position.  A buddy called, told him a rival company was opening a new office 5 miles from our house.  Won't you join us?

We expected a pay cut, we just didn't know how much.  Having FU money meant it really didn't matter how much, it was going to be work he enjoyed in a better environment and location.  As long as the offer wasn't enough of a paycut that he felt insulted, we agreed that he'd take the position if offered.

The salary offer matched his old salary plus bonuses.  Not an epic FU money story, but the money gave us freedom and confidence.

This is a great story, not epic FU like some of the stories above, but it gets to the heart of the matter.

Stache In Training

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #332 on: September 05, 2014, 01:53:22 PM »
Not as Epic, but FU money made it happen.

I quit to become a SAHD.  They were blown away and not expecting it at all.  That's not the epic part, but by being poilite and not burning bridges made this next part happen.

After a few weeks, they ask me to lunch, and offer me a promotion to a manager.  So basically the fact that they knew I don't need the money, means they gave me the most aggressive offer they've offered someone in that position, and the job description was changed to how I wanted it.  I was also able to ask for a bunch of vacation days that I now had planned, since I was planning on not working.  That wouldn't have been the case had I not quit and were just offered the promotion while still working there.

So not too epic in the sense of "stick it to the man," but definitely a great story and proof that FU money truly helps and gives you leverage... now I'll just be building even more FU money.

Zamboni

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #333 on: September 05, 2014, 02:51:11 PM »
^That's fantastic.  Congrats!

Sometimes you just need to be gone for a little while to be appreciated for your efficiency and hard work.

arebelspy

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #334 on: September 05, 2014, 05:35:01 PM »
Nice, congrats SIT!
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

Rustyfa

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #335 on: September 08, 2014, 10:00:11 PM »
My first post, might as we'll be here.

A little over a month ago I was told my department was going to salary.  This isn't surprising and I am surprised it took this long.  10 days later I was brought in to be told my salary from the new controller who had been working there two months.  They offered my hourly rate x 52 weeks x 40 hours. I slip up and swear a couple times a year but my reaction was to tell him to go f himself.  I couldn't help myself.  I said that if they wanted to retain me they needed to figure in my 7 hours of ot weekly.  They came back with a number that gave me a loss of five percent of my income.  Not ideal but i was later told by a friend higher up that I was the only one to complain and I was making 7500 more than anyone else in my department.  I have the cushion where if my wife and I get fired we can last 6 months and we have a very good start to our retirement.  I figure 9 to 17 years depending on the market.  So mid forties to early fifties.  Without this I would have taken it like the others. 

I was genuinely hurt by this.  I truly like my job and have worked my rear off to be very good at the job.  I was hurt by this and finally called the recruiter that had been hounding me back.  He scheduled an interview for the next day.  I sent out two resumes and after one interview at one spot and four at the other I have two offers.  One for comparable money but not in my field.  I had to turn it down,  would have loved working there but needed financial incentive.  The second offer is a 30 minute commute but offered more than I have made before base wise.  I countered with what i assumed a ridiculous number.  Two weeks go by.  I had emailed to thank them for the offer but decided to call and talk to the owner.  After a solid conversation I know they just can't match what I need to switch, travel etc even though it is a step up in career and money.  5 hours later I get an offer of 4percent more than the ridiculous number I asked for. 

I had to take it, had to.  So now I will be starting over there in a month and am scared and excited.  Having the fu money allowed me to counter at both jobs when a person without it may have been silenced.  I am sort of sad as I truly like my current job and the people.  Had they simply made a fair offer or gone up another 4k on the secondary offer they would have kept me.  Hope this works out well.  I live in rural Midwest and I never thought I would ever earn this much although it isn't close to six figures I see here.

No fu to the company.  I told them it was the best job I have ever had and that I didn't want to leave but financially I had no choice.  I want to not burn a bridge as someday I really may come back and work here again.
« Last Edit: September 08, 2014, 10:04:41 PM by Rustyfa »

arebelspy

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #336 on: September 09, 2014, 07:52:13 AM »
Awesome that you had that flexibility Rustyfa.  I'm sure your current job will miss you.  Hope you like your new job even more than the old one!
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

Jellyfish

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #337 on: September 09, 2014, 09:05:25 AM »
I honestly don't know whether I get kudos or a face punch for this. I am new to MMM, love the forum.  Have been good with saving and investing my whole live, but due to job uncertainties over the last few years started hoarding cash in fear of being laid off.  Sort of accidentally saved a giant FU fund.  Last November my job got miserable (massive project, working 70+ hours per week) and I'm a single mom to a 9 year old boy who was struggling with school.  We just found out he was dyslexic and I needed to have time with him to sort things out.  Long story short my FU fund enabled me to give 2 weeks notice. 

My employer (large consulting firm, I do HR/Recruiting) convinced me to take a 3 month leave of absence instead.  I did, and when I came back I negotiated a flexible work arrangement where I work 8am-3pm at 80% pay.  I'm off when my son comes home from school.  Works great, and now I can focus on my FIRE plan. 

My FU fund gave me the freedom to walk away, and my employer knows I am still willing to do so at any moment, which is great.  I realize after reading the MMM blog and this forum though that having as much cash as I do is ridiculous though (well over 1 year's living expenses, what was I thinking??).  I have Vanguard index funds and investments (401(k) and non-retirement, and am well diversified, just haven't been able to let go of this ridiculous safety blanket of cash.  Time to fix that.  I am 42 and think my ER goal is age 48 or 50.

jordanread

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #338 on: September 09, 2014, 09:28:05 AM »
I honestly don't know whether I get kudos or a face punch for this. I am new to MMM, love the forum.  Have been good with saving and investing my whole live, but due to job uncertainties over the last few years started hoarding cash in fear of being laid off.  Sort of accidentally saved a giant FU fund.  Last November my job got miserable (massive project, working 70+ hours per week) and I'm a single mom to a 9 year old boy who was struggling with school.  We just found out he was dyslexic and I needed to have time with him to sort things out.  Long story short my FU fund enabled me to give 2 weeks notice. 

My employer (large consulting firm, I do HR/Recruiting) convinced me to take a 3 month leave of absence instead.  I did, and when I came back I negotiated a flexible work arrangement where I work 8am-3pm at 80% pay.  I'm off when my son comes home from school.  Works great, and now I can focus on my FIRE plan. 

My FU fund gave me the freedom to walk away, and my employer knows I am still willing to do so at any moment, which is great.  I realize after reading the MMM blog and this forum though that having as much cash as I do is ridiculous though (well over 1 year's living expenses, what was I thinking??).  I have Vanguard index funds and investments (401(k) and non-retirement, and am well diversified, just haven't been able to let go of this ridiculous safety blanket of cash.  Time to fix that.  I am 42 and think my ER goal is age 48 or 50.

My vote is for kudos. Could the money be invested better? Sure. Did it 'buy' you freedom (in some form)? Absolutely. That's what money is about around these parts. :-) Congrats!

DeepEllumStache

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #339 on: September 09, 2014, 09:28:17 AM »
No face punches there, your FU money gave you exactly what it was supposed to give - the power to walk away from a situation that wasn't good for you.  Then you used it to negotiate a better path.  Great job!

ender

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #340 on: September 09, 2014, 04:20:27 PM »
It's technically not an FU story, yet, but I constantly remind the senior managers that they only have to put up with me for 10 more years. Each manager, all in their fifties, says the same thing "I wish I could retire in 10 years." That's when I tell them "not you. I'm retiring in 10 years." I'm literally half their age. One manager loves it when I do that to them.

This is great.

I have some coworkers who are in a similar position, though I'm not bold enough to say something like that to them...

fantabulous

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #341 on: September 09, 2014, 08:39:02 PM »
I honestly don't know whether I get kudos or a face punch for this.

Kudos to you, face punch to your employer.

viper155

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #342 on: September 10, 2014, 06:10:19 AM »
I was bartending at a place that I actually loved working in but I was getting bored. I was waiting to be called to my dream job with the FDNY. Biding time. One day I received my notice that I would be getting sworn in 8 weeks later. I went to work the next day and when the boss came in, out of nowhere, I told him I quit. I worked one more day and the day after that I left on a 6 week bicycle journey. I had done this sort of thing before, but this time I did it the right way.
That was 1990. Today I'm retired from my job with the FDNY but it sure did feel good to just pack up and go!

Pat

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #343 on: September 10, 2014, 08:10:50 AM »
I agree with what tooqk4u22 said on the first page about FU money affording one the opportunity to stay as well as leave. I enjoy the work I do, most of the people I work with, have a relatively short commute, never travel for work, save >50% of my take-home, and still have room to grow in my career with our organization, so I have turned down other potentially higher paying opportunities because I didn't want to risk ending up somewhere I'm not as happy as I am now.

TurtleMarkets

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #344 on: September 10, 2014, 01:58:33 PM »
Two Stories that are not me but I witnessed.

1. This guy worked with us for a few months. We had a meeting almost monthly were we got yelled at for not doing enough work. All in really vague and unmeasurable terms. I thought they were funny and almost seemed like satire from a office show. This one guy did not. He called off the next day. Then the day after that called in and said I am not coming in today or ever again. Not sure how you want to notify HR or the rest of management but I will mail my ID badge in.  (Click)"   (The manager told us this conversation in a tone like this guy was a loser) Turns out he was working on a side project and needed to work for a few more months before he could go on his own. That meeting made him say it was time.

2. Get an email from a .net devloper that says.  "It was nice working with  you all. Good bye"  Management flipped out because he didnt give any warning. He sent that email and walked out with no explanation.  Still have no idea what happened

mrcheese

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #345 on: September 11, 2014, 01:14:27 AM »
I’m not sure if this belongs in the “find a new job” gauntlet challenge or here:
I had a horrible job – I took it because I thought it would be a good move but I never did get anything I was promised in the interviews…
Anyway, after a bit over a year in the job, the workload had tripled (as was expected) and they finally got me the long promised assistant. And decided to pay them more than me, even though I would be training and supervising them. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back (see other work related rant from a few months back).
So I did some sums and realised that I did have a couple of months FU money up my sleeve and I could afford to stand up for myself for once. So I did, and got sacked.
But, being in the wrong they had to give me my accrued leave and pay in lieu of notice so I got a few unexpected grand for acting in my own best interests for a change :)
The day after, I bumped into some team mates from a previous government job and got a foot back in the door there. I did get a glorious three weeks of leisure before stepping into a cushy role that pays more per hour for a fraction of the responsibility and has awesome flexibility in a super convenient location. Yes, FU money is a nice thing to have.

trailrated

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #346 on: September 22, 2014, 08:44:39 AM »

pachnik

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #347 on: September 22, 2014, 09:14:17 AM »
OP here, I think this lady takes the cake

http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/alaska-tv-reporter-quits-on-air-fk-it-i-quit_b239657

Wow, I can't believe that one.  Talk about burning bridges.  I don't think I'd ever have the courage to do it quite so dramatically.  Thanks for posting it. 

partgypsy

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #348 on: September 23, 2014, 01:19:46 PM »
I guess in retrospect I have a couple fu stories. I got a job right out of college that was actually quite good, in the late 80's making 21K a year in the field I wanted to be in (research). In addition to the job I was being paid to do (study coordinator for a study funded by a particular company) I did a lot of other things for them, being a recent college grad and eager beaver, including editing their newsletter, working on other studies, and formatting letters for the secretary (she was there for her looks and that's about it). Anyways the study is expanding to other sites, and I'm flown out to meet the expanded team. I'm also recognized because we were the first site and also helped them redo the data collection forms. The VP of the company lets us know that each site is getting 35K to pay for our job, and to let him know if we are not getting it. My mouth drops open. I figure I don't even care if I get the full 35K, but can use the news to at least get 28K a year. I schedule a meeting with the office manager (it's fall). He says he can only talk salary at the annual meeting in spring. Being naive, I wait until spring. When I go to meet with him, he basically pats me on the head, says that money is short but for me they will stretch and give me a 3% raise. I bring up what the VP said. He basically calls me a liar and "take it or leave it." Mind you, this is an office where 95% of the employees are cowed married middle aged females who work for peanuts, and only the primary doctor and upper management are men who drive cars that cost more than any employee's annual salary. Other sexist things like the women staff had to wear a skirt or dress on days the (male) doctor worked. So I let my immediate supervisor know, and think about it for a day. Basically I was so disgusted by them thinking I was this stupid I didn't think I could work for them anymore. I go back the next day saying "thank you for the opportunity, you said take it or leave it so I leave it; this is my 2 weeks notice". Now it was his turn for his mouth to drop open.
The VP ends up personally calling me, asking me to stay and I will get the money, as long as I agreed to stay until the trial was over (3 years). As I was planning to apply to grad school for the following year I end up having to decline, plus the situation would be, uncomfortable. (I had heard from the grapevine the manager had some "esplaining" to do). During the year and a half I did work there I had saved 7K, and all these long time employees who knew my grad school plans were shaking my hand, and congratulations kind of a Norma Rae moment. Because I lived frugally, was able to take 6 months off, and then just worked a part time job for the few months before beginning grad school.

As I now have dependents and house and such it would take me a lot more to something like that, but strangely it was the right decision at the time.
« Last Edit: September 23, 2014, 01:25:28 PM by partgypsy »

Joggernot

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #349 on: September 23, 2014, 02:22:50 PM »
Just found this article.  Guess we can do this with impunity now...

http://www.caintv.com/obamas-nlrb-now-ordering-reins