There’s been a lot of talk lately about F*ck Off Funds, both on Can’t Swing a Cat and elsewhere on the web. While many people may admit to having parents and even grandparents that have been using this foul-mouthed phrase for years, it’s a huge talking point at the moment thanks to Paulette Perlach’s A Story of a F*ck Off Fund.
If you haven’t heard this term before, it’s essentially an emergency fund designed to empower the owner and enable them to escape from unhealthy - and even dangerous - situations such as a toxic work environment or nasty partner. Think of this as your financial escape plan. Your Plan B. Your parachute that allows you to throw yourself out of a plane at 70,000 feet. Continue Reading
It’s been a busy month in the world of money saving and personal finance. Following George Osborne’s Budget announcement earlier this month, it’s safe to say the nation has been divided. While many have celebrated the introduction of new savings options for first time buyers, others have criticised the introduction of a National Living Wage which excludes under 25s. Let’s look at a handful of news stories and assess how they could affect you:
Basic rate taxpayers to receive £1,000 tax-free interest annually
If you’re a basic rate taxpayer, from April 6th you’ll be entitled to up to £1,000 a year in savings interest – tax free.
Higher rate taxpayers will be allowed to earn up to £500 tax free interest each year.
Currently, the interest we earn on our savings is taxed before it reaches out accounts (excluding interest saved in ISAs).
With Martin Lewis branding this “the biggest savings shake-up for a generation”, some experts predict that these changes could render traditional Cash ISAs pointless.
George Osborne Announces ‘Lifetime ISA’ to help under 40s save for homes and pensions
In George Osborne’s 2016 Budget Announcement he revealed plans to introduce a new Lifetime ISA to help people save for both a home and a retirement.
The new ISA will be introduced in April 2017 and will reward savers with £1 for every £4 they save. Savers will be allowed to deposit up to £4,000 a year in the account before receiving a 25% top up from the government.
To learn more about this new way of saving for a home and pension, visit my Lifetime ISA Guide.
Introduction of National Living Wage to bump up wages for 4.5 million workers
The National Living Wage will come into force on April 1st - but only for those aged 25 and above. Those who fit the criteria - an estimated 4.5 million workers - will earn at least £7.20 an hour.
While these changes have been celebrated by some, others have questioned why under 25s aren’t entitled to the same amount of money.
23% of under 30s say someone needs to die before they can buy a home
You read that right! A quarter of under 30s believe they won’t be able to buy a home until a relative dies and they inherit money.
I must admit that I let out a shocked little laugh when I first saw this headline and imagined millennials everywhere sat at their grandparents’ bedsides menacingly clutching a pillow in their hands. However, this news is clearly quite depressing when you think about it – for everyone involved!
The findings come from a survey by The House Crowd which asked 1,000 18 to 29-year-olds about their thoughts on buying a home of their home.
36% of those surveyed said they believe they’ll be renting forever. So what exactly is standing in their way?
54% say they can’t afford to save a deposit
55% say UK house prices are too high
35% can’t afford mortgage repayments
19% don’t want to be tied down to one location
Petition launched to scrap letting agents fees
Last week The Debrief launched a petition to demand an end to letting agent fees. With just one in ten 16-24-year-olds being in a position to buy a home of their own, the petition asks Housing Minister Brandon Lewis to ditch letting agent fees in order to ‘get a better deal for Generation Rent’.
In an article on The Debrief’s website, features editor Vicky Spratt questioned why fees vary so drastically from agency to agency. She said: “I have paid as little as £80 and as much as £552 in agency fees. Every time you move and go through a letting agent you will incur some kind of cost.”
At the time of writing this post, the petition has approximately 56,000 signatures.
A couple of months ago I wrote about how having my own F*ck Off Fund allowed me to quit a job that was making me desperately unhappy. I didn’t have another job lined up but, armed with a healthy emergency fund, I decided to take the leap and leave. It turns out that quitting that job was one of the best things I’ve ever done. The weeks that followed allowed me to give myself a well-deserved break, exercise, blog, spend time with family and focus on freelance projects. I soon realised that life’s too short to be in a situation that has a negative impact on your mental health and, if you’re able to escape - you should!
Here are 8 blogs that perfectly highlight the importance of saving a F*ck Off Fund if you’re able to…
1. The Story of a F*ck Off Fund
If you’ve never heard of a F*ck Off Fund before, this empowering type of emergency fund recently became a huge talking point after Billfold published ‘The Story of a F*ck Off Fund” by Paulette Perhach.
Perhach tells the tale of a girl who leaves university with strong ambitions for the future but things start to take a turn for the worst when her boss turns out to be a creep and her boyfriend gets abusive. Perhach explains that having your own secret savings account gives you freedom and gives you choices.
“To build [your F*ck Off Fund], you keep living like you lived as a broke student. You waitress on Saturdays, even though you work Monday through Friday. You make do with the garage sale coffee table. It’s hard, your loan payments suck, but you make girl’s night an at-home thing and do tacos potluck.
When your boss tells you that you look nice, asks you to do a spin, you say, “Is there some way you need my assistance in the professional capacity or can I go back to my desk now?”
When your boyfriend calls you stupid, you say if he ever says that again, you’re out of there, and it’s not hard to imagine how you’ll accomplish your getaway.”
While this liberating type of fund is by no means a new concept and many young women today will thank their mothers and grandmothers for telling them to save for a rainy day, there’s no denying that Perhach’s viral post has sparked much-needed discussion on the topic. Thanks to Perhach, even more women are looking for ways to save emergency funds, talking about money with friends, and benefitting from the sense of empowerment that comes with protecting yourself financially.
It’s easy to see how a F*ck Off Fund can be an empowering asset to have in order to escape a bad situation and embark on a new adventure. But considering how expensive day-to-day life can be, how is the average person meant to actually save up for one? Thankfully, financial planner Shannon Simmons wrote ‘Make Your F*ck Off Fund Happen‘ to help.
Shannon writes: “Not a week goes by in my job where I don’t see a client who is in desperate need of a Fuck Off Fund. I see clients settling for loveless relationships because it’s too expensive to break up and they can’t afford to rent in an apartment on their own anymore. Others who are being emotionally bullied at work, but won’t say anything so they don’t get let go in the next rounds of lay-offs because they are ‘unlikable’ or ‘difficult.’”
In this post you’ll find plenty of actionable advice from living below your means to making sure you know your finances inside-out so that you can make empowered decisions.
At the age of 8 she started stashing her pocket money into a candy tin in the hope of one day buying a fancy car and driving off into the sunset in it. She even kept a ledger which noted each of her deposits along with a picture of a car at the top of it. Now that’s what I call starting early!
Later in the post Erin tells a much darker tale where her babysitting job came to an abrupt end after the child’s father came home and confessed to her about having routine affairs and sleeping with prostitutes.
Erin writes: “Horrified, I left the apartment and texted the wife the next morning that I had found a full-time job and could no longer balance babysitting in my schedule. A lie, but I had enough money to cut both that babysitting gig and lecherous man out of my life.”
4. Why A F*ck Off Fund Is Not Enough
And here’s another gem from Erin Lowry, this time arguing that while a F U fund is an important savings buffer to have, it’s not enough on its own. She believes that those who can afford to save money should also strive towards savings an ‘Oh Sh*t! Fund‘ too.
While an F U fund enables you to leave an abusive partner or tell your bully boss to ‘do one’, an Oh Sh*t! Fund is for life’s sudden - and arguably less empowering - emergencies. After all, if your boiler breaks or you need to buy a new car after yours is written off, you don’t want to dip into the funds you’ve set aside for the day you may have to run away from a negative situation.
5. My First Big Girl Job Was A Financial Nightmare
This post by Alyssa at Mixed Up Money is a tough one to read. While other bloggers write about how their F U funds enabled them to flip their desks and start afresh, Alyssa warns that for a long time her non-existent savings prevented her from escaping from sexual harassment at work. Fresh out of university at the age of 23, she was trapped in a job that was making her miserable but, fearing that she’d be unable to pay her bills if she quit, she stayed.
Alyssa writes: “Before successful completion of my probationary period, I started to receive inappropriate text messages at all hours of the night from [my] boss. Scared to tell anyone because I was fearful I may lose my job without warning or pay, I kept these things to myself. The messages were often inquiring about lavish vacations he wanted to take me on, talking about how much he had drank that night, and of course, the much more explicit messages I’ll keep to myself.”
6. Quit Fucking Around And Build Yourself A Fuck Off Fund
I don’t half love big meaty blog posts and ‘Quit Fucking Around And Build Yourself A Fuck Off Fund‘ by Adventurous Kate really is spot on. After highlighting the many reasons one might need a wad of cash to support a dramatic escape, she shares tips on saving the money required:
Kate explains: “[You should have] enough to cover your expenses and live frugally for three to six months. Ideally six, and more is even better. I know this sounds daunting. That is a fuckload of money to save up. Don’t think of this as a long-term struggle, though — this is a lifestyle change.”
7. There’s Something Better Than A Fuck Off Fund
As much as I salute anyone who makes the necessary sacrifices to save an emergency fund, it’s important to acknowledge that building up a savings fund isn’t possible for everyone. In ‘There’s Something Better Than A Fuck Off Fund‘, Girl On The Net emphasises the point that the people who need an F U Fund the most are the people that will never ever have one.
GOTN write: “Financial independence is not possible for everyone. Whether through illness, job prospects, sheer bad fucking luck, not everyone can be financially independent. So when I see lots of people sharing an article and saying ‘women! You MUST have this! You MUST have adequate savings so that at any point you can drop it all and leave!’ I am torn between wanting to punch the air and wanting to weep.”
8. I Have My Own F*ck Off Fund & You Need One Too
I’m going to finish this round-up with one of my own posts because, well, I run this place and I want you to check out my other stuff as well as the work of the fantastic writers above!
As I explained at the start of this post, my F*ck Off Fund enabled me to hand in my notice and escape a toxic working environment that was emotionally draining and having a negative impact on my relationships with my boyfriend and family.
I’m going to finish off this post by saying that if you’re being bullied at work, you’re trapped in an abusive relationship, or you’re struggling with debt, it’s important not to suffer in silence. Talk to a friend you can trust or contact an advice charity for support. Whether you have an emergency fund or not, sometimes you need to fix more than just the financial side of things.
No matter what your situation, if you’re really unhappy and struggling to cope, get in touch with Samaritans.
Mind are a fantastic charity to turn to if you’re struggling with mental health problems.
If you’re a woman trapped in an abusive relationship, Refuge can help. If you’re a man, there’s help for you too.
After going through our finances with a fine tooth comb and creating a spreadsheet that outlines our current and predicted expenditure, we’ve decided that we shouldn’t really spend more than £700 a month on rent between us.
In Manchester, this budget is certainly achievable, but we are finding it tricky to find a flat that is furnished, within our budget, a reasonable size, and within walking distance of each of our workplaces. We’ve learnt that something’s got to give. We’re going to have to sacrifice one or two of these things.
Finding our ideal rented flat on a budget…
I’ll give you a few examples of the types of flat we’ve viewed so far…
The Hulme Flat
A couple of weeks ago we visited a flat in Hulme. It was a 10 minute walk from Jake’s office and a 35 minute walk from mine. With rent standing at £625 a month, this seemed perfect for us as it was way below our budget. However, when we actually went to view the flat, we realised it was absolutely tiny.
The current tenant was present during the viewing and after looking round and wondering where the hell he kept all his stuff, we realised he was an international student who’d gotten used to living a life of minimalism. The letting agent couldn’t comprehend the fact that he didn’t have a telly. This place was perfect for him, not so perfect for us.
The Ancoats Flat
Next on the list was a flat based in Ancoats. Located a short walk from my work and half an hour from Jake’s, it seemed great location-wise. It was also modern, beautifully furnished, central, and priced at £700 a month. However, after learning that the nightclub Sankeys is right under the building, we had to turn down what otherwise looked like the perfect flat.
This was one of the cheapest city-centre flats we could find, leading us to believe that if you want to live in the centre of Manchester for £700 a month or less, there is going to be something significantly wrong with the place. In this case, it was noise! It also wasn’t the best size, but it was better than the Hulme flat.
The Withington Flat
I really want to live within walking distance of work but by this point I was starting to accept that it’d be difficult to find somewhere that’s walkable and the price and size we want. So we started looking further afield in south Manchester.
We found TONS of gorgeous, beautifully furnished, well sized flats and houses in south Manchester for around £700 a month. However, considering we’ll have to factor transport costs and time (time is money) into account, we decided that if we live in south Manchester, we’re going to have to knock our budget down.
We did manage to find a 2 bedroom flat in Withington for just £570 a month but there was a huge catch - it was unfurnished!
Initially we had little interest in buying furniture for a flat we don’t own, so we decided not to view the Withington flat. However, over the last couple of weeks we’ve started to wonder whether furnishings could be a really cost-effective sacrifice.
Can renting an unfurnished flat save money in the long run?
For renters unable to afford the upfront cost of furniture, unfurnished flats can be pretty much out of the question. However, I’ve realised that for those who have a bit of savings to hand, an unfurnished flat could work out more cost-effective in the long run. Costs can be saved in numerous ways:
Cheaper rent
Less chance of losing your deposit (landlord can’t accuse you of damaging the sofa)
Investment in furniture that you can keep for the future
By sourcing furniture now, when I eventually come to buy a home of my own, I won’t be filling the property with furnishings from scratch. I’ll already have a nice little collection.
How can you source furniture cheaply?
Buying furniture for a flat doesn’t have to be expensive. You have the following options:
Buy new pieces cheaply from places like Ikea and Argos
We already have a lovely chair. So that’s one thing off the list 😉
What do you think? Would you rent somewhere unfurnished to save cash or do you prefer the hassle-free approach of furnished properties? Any tips for someone looking to fill their rented flat cheaply?
If you follow me on Twitter you may have cottoned onto the fact that I’m currently flat hunting! Unfortunately, despite my deposit-saving mission, I’m not yet looking for a flat to buy, but rather a flat to rent.
Although I moved in with my parents a year and a half ago with the intention of never renting again, it’s not like I knew how things would pan out.
The money I’ve saved isn’t going anywhere. It’s still my deposit savings fund, it’s going to continue to grow month on month, and I won’t be splashing it on fast cars and fast men. I might even go ahead and buy a home in a year’s time! But I’ve realised there is no rush. And, although I’d be lying if I said that rapidly rising house prices weren’t making me sweat, saving for a deposit is a marathon, not a race.
So here are just a few reasons I’ve decided to put home ownership on the back burner and start renting again:
I don’t need to be a home owner to love where I live
For a while I thought that home ownership was my ultimate goal, but I recently realised that I just want to make a place my home. While there are some considerable limitations when renting, (and we won’t even go into the risks associated with shitty landlords), I don’t need to own the place I’m living in order to be happy. Instead, I need to be living in a space that makes me happy with a person or people that make me happy. Home ownership is still something I’d like to achieve in the next few years but it’s time to sloooow down and take things as they come.
I need to sort out my career first
Until I quit my last job, I’d become so obsessed with saving for a deposit in a short space of time that I was working myself into the grave. I was scared of leaving the job I hated because I didn’t want to ruin my chances of getting a mortgage. Since many mortgage lenders will only lend to people who have been in the same job for a certain period of time, I told myself I’d be best off sticking around while saving/house hunting and buggering off once I’d bought a place.
That was not a healthy or sensible attitude to have. I soon realised it would be FAR more logical to sort my career out first and find a company I could see myself staying with before taking out the largest loan imaginable and tying myself to a property.
Thankfully, I’m now in a job that makes me happy. It’s still early days though and the sensible part of my brain is telling me that buying a house now would be a bit like getting engaged to someone I’d only known for 3 weeks. So I’m going to chill out, enjoy the role, and see what happens.
I don’t want to buy a home I’ll be desperate to move out of
Despite increasing my salary twice since I first started saving for a home, I’m still facing considerable restrictions when it comes to actually being able to afford a house that I want. I’m not expecting to live in Didsbury or Chorlton or even my home town of Sale, but I’d like to live in an area where I can feel safe walking to the shop at night and where the streets aren’t paved with litter.
I also don’t want to panic-buy a property just because it’s the only one I can afford. I’m probably better off saving a larger amount of money before I buy a place.
I wanna get me some of that Help to Buy ISA money
I’m counting down the days until the 6th April when I can finally get myself a Help to Buy ISA. (I’ve already paid into a Cash ISA this tax year and Halifax told me I wasn’t eligible to switch until the 2016/17 tax year). If I open my new ISA with £1,200 and then deposit £200 each month after that, after a year I’ll land an extra £850 towards my deposit for free. Oh, and if I decide to wait until 2018 to buy a home, I can move my money into a Lifetime ISA and grow my funds even further. Give me some of that free money!
I want to build my credit rating
Okay okay, part of the reason I’m ‘delaying’ home ownership is because I don’t think I could actually get a mortgage right now because of my diabolically non-existent credit rating. I always thought that never having a credit card would be a good thing. Turns out it aint! And lenders are wary of lending mega bucks to people who haven’t borrowed money before. Once Jake and I move in, I’ll be using my shiny new credit card on a regular basis to prove I’m a good little borrower.
I want to live with Jake NOW!
I really can’t wait to live with Jake. We may not be able to decorate our rented flat like we would if I bought a house myself, but we can definitely customise it a bit and make it our own. I feel like life will be one big sleepover when Jake and I live together.
I currently spend half my week at my parents’ house and half of it at the house Jake shares with strangers. I know I’ve been extremely fortunate to avoid expensive living costs for so long, but I’m tired of lugging my stuff back and forth, living in two places at once, and constantly ringing Jake and my Mum up to say “Is such and such a dress at your house?”
Jake’s also tired of living in what feels a bit like a student house. I’ve warned him that living with me will probably be much worse because I’m lazy AF and think nothing of leaving my dishes at the side of the sink until the next day, but he won’t listen.
I also like the idea of Jake and I becoming more of a team and working together to run a home that we ‘own’ equally. Jake’s a couple of years younger than I (toy-boy) and having only graduated from university last summer, he’s at the start of his career and not in a position to save a deposit just yet. I don’t want the first time we live together to be on an uneven footing, if that makes sense. I don’t want it to feel like he’s living in my house. I want it to be ours. I want us to work together to save more money.
So there you have it! Although my deposit-saving mission continues, Jake and I are on the hunt for a place to rent. If anything, I think this could give my blog a fun new angle too. Maybe this time next year I’ll be in the paper again but for saving £10,000 in a yearwhile renting, rather than by ‘sponging off mummy and daddy’ as so many Daily Mail readers kindly worded it!
OH AND BY THE WAY: If you happen to know any responsible landlords in the Manchester area that are looking to cut out the middle man (letting agents) and find some lovely little tenants, do give me a shout! We’re finding flat hunting to be a pain in the arse!
