I always thought that I knew everything there is to know about money; I read all the financial books I could lay my hands on, I learnt how to budget and to save, how to Invest, I was frugal beyond redemption and I thought I was following all of the money rules! But guess what? I knew jack, and he happened to be my bff 🤣🤣🤣🤣
I decided to get my “money act” together after my husband and I bought our 1st home on a whim in 2014, one month after getting hitched. Who the hell does that? What the hell was wrong with us? And instead of learning the adulting ropes fast enough, we free-styled all the way going for broke.
Mind you, we both knew that a property (especially a non-commercial property) is more of a Liability, than it is an Asset…Thanks Rich Dad. But with all that “genius” in us, we made a quick decision and dove right in without thinking through the financial implications.
Assets become liabilities even when you’re trying to do everything right, it will most of the time always go wrong. We were not aware of the fact that we’d exposed ourselves to debt because we didn’t have a “F@#$ Off fund” for those “curve balls” that life throws at you.
But what exactly is a “F@#$ Off fund”?
My concocted definition states that, It’s a back up to an emergency savings account that has enough money to fully cover about 12months expenses and then some. It’s a back up to your back up savings. With a “F@#$ Off fund”, You will never feel like the universe is constantly conspiring against you, as it offers one a freedom that literally only money can buy.
If I could turn back the hands of time and give myself a piece of advice, it would be to set up a “F@#$ Off fund” before purchasing a property.
Three years ago, while taking a “property stock” of our assets, it dawned upon us that we were asset rich, but cash poor. And with that, we came to learn first hand that having money tied up in assets while being cash strapped is a pretty uncomfortable place to be. We only had two options to get ourselves out of the sticky wicket: To Cut Costs or Earn More.
I chose the latter (of which i’ll divulge the “how’s” and “why’s” later) and 4 months on with my “F@#$ Off fund” in tow, i’m almost…almost seeing the light at the end of the “Asset Rich, Cash Poor” tunnel.
