r/Fire•
therealhappypanda

"no thank you" money

The phrase FU money typically refers to a situation where you're in a bad spot at work and you can say no to it, or someone otherwise tries to pressure you into doing something and you have enough money to tell them to go away.

Late last year, I was approached by a recruiter for a role that would have paid me maybe 20-30% more next year, but also would have been riskier (one of these "perform or get out" companies). I passed the first couple of rounds and, instead of going forward with the on-site, politely declined to move forward because I have two small kids at home and didn't think the strain on the family was appropriate at this phase in our lives. Five years ago I'd have relentlessly pursued it, but we are about halfway to our fire number as of today.

So I'd like to propose an in between stage in the journey: "no thank you money." Enough that you can be a little pickier in your values and politely decline futures that don't align with them.

Posted Jan 25, 2026, 4:30 AM UTC

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