F-You Money

When I first heard the term F-You Money it was used in the context of someone being so wealthy that they could afford to throw money around like it’s nothing. And it’s displayed through material possessions like cars, homes, jewelry, or sometimes literally by throwing paper cash in the air. 

MY definition of F-You Money is more along the lines that J.L. Collins talks about in his book The Simple Path to Wealth. It’s not about how much you have. It’s more about how much financial agility you have. It’s not about the number in the bank account alone. It’s about being able to have options. To be able to say “no” and walk away when you want or need to and to say “Yes” to your priorities. 

For self-employed clinicians financial agility shows up in many ways. 

👍 Being able to enroll in that CEU course without having to hem and haw about the money and time cost.

👍 Dropping a low-paying insurance provider.

👍 Only accepting patients who are the right fit for your clinic.

👍 No pressure to take on patients for the money.

👍 Scaling back days or taking extended time off without worrying about loss of income. 

👍 To be able to peace out of a toxic employment or contract arrangement. ✌️

Making a lot of money can help, but that’s only one half of the equation. If you have a lot of debt and your expenses track along with your rising income then you’re never going to have financial agility. Every dollar put toward paying interest or spent on stuff there is an opportunity cost - i.e. the potential loss from a missed opportunity as a result of choosing one thing over another. Such as putting that money toward investments that compound interest. So it’s just as important (more important I would argue) that your expense half of the equation is lean and mean. You can make $50k a year and have F-You Money. It just depends on the choices you make.

I’ll end this with an excerpt from The Simple Path to Wealth:

A Parable: The Monk and the Minister

Two close boyhood friends grow up and go their separate ways. One becomes a humble monk, the other a rich and powerful minister to the king.

Years later they meet. As they catch up, the portly minister(in his fine robes) take pity on the thin and shabby monk. Seeking to help, he says:

“You know, if you could learn to cater to the king, you wouldn’t have to live on rice and beans.”

To which the monk replies:

“If you could learn to live on rice and beans, you wouldn’t have to cater to the king.”