The bad-ass cousin to the Rainy Day Fund, F**k Off Funds have your back in situations a bit more sinister than a plumbing emergency. Chip’s in-house writer, Sheridan, explains.  Content warning for language, if it’s not obvious already…

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The age old ‘saving for a rainy day’ metaphor, a saying popular among our middle aged savers, is typically used to describe putting away money for life's unexpected financial emergencies. If we were speaking figuratively, saving for a rainy day would be like saving for another day in the UK.

Our devilishly clever data wizards found that our Chip savers had given over 3000 goals titles along the lines of rainy day funds.

Rainy day funds cover the death of your car’s radiator; emergency root canals and replacing your smashed iPhone screen. However, some situations deserve something a little more than a bad weather metaphor to describe them.

Enter, ‘F**k Off’ funds.

Fuck Off funds are reserved for the shitty jobs you couldn’t afford to leave, difficult home dynamics you felt trapped in, or the bad relationships you avoided ending because you couldn’t afford to move out.

According to a study commissioned by the Debt Advisory Center, nearly one in five people have stayed in a romantic relationship because financial concerns have prevented them from leaving. This could be due to complexities such as shared accounts or financial abuse.

Fuck Off funds provide a sense of security; a sense of reassurance.

And Sarah, now our Head of Community, sought out Chip for exactly that.

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Sarah, Chip’s head of community, showing off the new flat she moved in to with her Fuck Off funds

Sarah started using Chip over two years ago, prior to landing the job, for no real reason other than she felt like she should be putting money away.

“I had no goals, no upcoming trips planned, and a deposit on a house sounded like a far-off fantasy; I just figured I should do the adult thing and have some money put aside, so I installed Chip after it came up on Facebook and left it to do its thing,” she says.

“But then, my long-term relationship suddenly came to an end, and I had to move out. Fast.

I definitely stayed in the relationship longer than I should have. If the spare money wasn’t there, I may have stayed even longer. I obviously still had to go through the stress of ending a relationship, but knowing that I actually had the option to move out was a massive help.”

On the topic, Paulette Perhach wrote a very well received essay on The Billfold titled ‘A Story of a Fuck Off Fund’ detailing how this sort of spare money catalysed her way out of both a toxic relationship and sexual advancements from her boss. Being without these funds can leave you vulnerable and Perhach argues Fuck Off funds are a ‘financial self defense’. They give you freedom and an escape route.

Sarah sits nodding aggressively in agreement.

“By having some cash squirreled away, you can say “fuck it”, and do what you need to do when everything gets a little bit too much,” she says.

I’m currently putting aside for a genuine jacket and one for a pair of Doc Martens. All you need to survive the winter and look good doing it.”

Have you got a Fuck Off fund story? If so, we want to hear from you!

Get in touch via our Facebook or Instagram, or email sheridan@getchip.uk.

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