I didn’t come across the term FU Money until my late thirties, more than a decade into teaching myself personal finance. By then I’d already learned the basics. What I hadn’t found was the idea that changed what I was saving for.
In 2016, I was reading The Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins, a blueprint for financial independence and living life on your own terms. Collins wrote that “there are many things money can buy, but the most valuable of all is freedom. Freedom to do what you want and to work for whom you respect.”
“There are many things money can buy, but the most valuable of all is freedom. Freedom to do what you want and to work for whom you respect.”
- JL Collins
I couldn’t get that idea out of my head. FU Money isn’t retirement. It starts much earlier. As your savings grow, so does your ability to make decisions that would otherwise feel financially dangerous. The freedom to walk away from a job, a relationship, or any situation that asks you to be someone you’re not. I already knew what I wanted my number to buy: a sabbatical. The goal became having enough money to always have the power to act on my own terms.
What Money Means
As I learned more about money, I started to understand how money gradually converts into options. Living paycheck to paycheck meant I couldn’t afford for anything to go wrong. Saving one month of expenses meant I was protected against a small surprise. Three to six months of savings meant I could survive losing my job.
But FU Money is a financial runway that lets you choose. It’s a floor, not a finish line. It means you are no longer forced to tolerate a situation because you need the next paycheck.
Everyone’s number will be different, as expenses matter more than salary. I saved $30,000 ahead of my sabbatical in 2018. It took me three years, but my minimalist lifestyle helped me get there faster than my income alone would have. That same lifestyle gave me 15 months of freedom during the sabbatical, whereas someone with double my monthly expenses would have had only 7.5 months.
FU Money isn’t just about building a big savings account or investment portfolio. Reducing the amount of money required to maintain your lifestyle increases the power of every dollar you’ve saved.
As I saved for my sabbatical, I asked myself, “How much freedom have I purchased already?”
The Buffer
After I returned to work, one of my first financial priorities was rebuilding my FU Money. I’d come to think about it more like an insurance policy. I don’t check it often. It’s just there, and it means I never have to stay somewhere I don’t want to be.
A buffer doesn’t remove the bad days at work. It’s there so quitting becomes a real option, not a fantasy you can’t afford. Once you’ve built past the point of surviving a job loss, every additional dollar buys you something different: the ability to walk toward a choice instead of just away from a crisis. That’s the shift FU Money marks, and the clarity starts kicking in before the number feels impressive.
This week, write down one number: what it would cost to cover your basic expenses for one month with no income? Most people have never actually calculated this. The number is usually smaller and more manageable than the fear around it.
See you next week.
P.S. Do you already know your number? I’d love to hear what surprised you when you calculated it, or what’s stopping you from wanting to know.