www.elle.com: Earlier this week, you might've seen an article by Paulette Perhach in the The Billfold called "A Story of a F*ck Off Fund." It went super-viral—it was sent to me by no fewer than ten women, and I sent it to at least ten more. It tells an original "choose your own adventure"-style story in which a young woman graduates from college, buys a new car and fancy clothes, but then finds herself in credit card debt, in an abusive relationship, and trapped in a job she hates.
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This article reminds me so much of my grandmother. Growing up one of the things she always said to me was that as a woman, I should never so dependent on a man or another person financially that I couldn't survive if I left. I still think about that advice all the time, and I really believe that because my grandmother preached that to me, my sister, my mother and aunt, that we are all career driven women, and determined to be able to survive on our own if we had to. This is essentially what the "Fuck Off Fund" is. It's enough money saved away that should a woman feel stuck or unhappy in her life she is financially secure enough to say "Fuck Off" and take her life somewhere else. While I'm not sure my grandmother would ever call her version an FOF (this is not to say she doesn't curse like a sailor, because she does), she would still love the idea, and I think that it's super important for us to continue to teach women that independence and an ability to exist alone if necessary is vital to not only women happiness, but comfort and sanity.
Here we go. LISTEN UP LADIES. I hate ads. I hate gendered articles like this one. It reminds me of my stupid preteen years spent on GURL.com learning different ways to French kiss while still having braces, ridding of that “awful, unruly body hair”, and how to properly insert a tampon because pads are “just inferior”. Now, listen up. I go to read this greenpage article while texting my new female interest and I go “oh hey, a feminist looking article, let’s go comment on social issues. And would you guess what comes up as soon as I click this link? A fucking skin care ad. About fruit oils and I don’t even know. As most of you have experienced, the ad button to investigate the product is huge and in the center, along with a cute, flirty looking model. The “no thanks” button is near invisible. But do you know what gets me? The “no thanks” is phrased as “I’m good, my current skincare regimen works just fine.” Like, get out of here. Some women take care of their skin. And some don’t. Same with men. Get over it. Overall, good financial advice. But it’s good for everyone. Not just the inherently helpless female.
I agree that this is both good advice, and with Kim. I think that yes, it's a a fantastic idea to start a fund that you can't touch for a day you may really need it. However, the reasoning here is a little strange. Why should I need an eff off fund more than any dude, or why should I be tempted by handbags?
I always struggling financially saving, but it's not due to my feminine urge to buy shoes and handbags, as this claims. It's the expense of daily living. But the article does have sort of a point. To be a professional woman is expensive. You are expected to look a certain way to be taken seriously. Which means the right clothes, and makeup, or else you can be perceived as unprofessional.
Anyway, I have been thinking about this a lot, and really should become more responsible in terms of money especially if something were to happen unexpectedly. And the travel fund is aactually a great idea. I've seen all sorts of young women who save a portion of their paycheck, or get another job for a few years and then on a budget, travel the world. That's inspiring to me, too. This article gave me a lot to think about both positive and negative.
I think it is interesting that, as far as I can tell, this is more or less a re-branding of a rainy day fund, or maybe a re-branded and slightly more intense rainy day fund. This is all really useful money saving advice. I get how women are (statistically speaking) more likely to end up in situations where they lose independence due to their financial situation, but honestly, this is a good idea for everyone. People can end up in a situation where they need out and don’t have the money, regardless of gender. But, this particular article is essentially re-branding savings to encourage women to save. The question is, is there a problem in terms of women not being as good at saving money as men are (or is it just that women need to save more money due to statistically making less) and does creating a women specific term for savings make those women who don’t save more likely to? If creating a targeted term like this can help women who would otherwise be financially dependent be more financially independent and by extension be able to get out of a bad situation, then I’m all for making up a targeted term.
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