Ep 514: Why Every Woman Needs a “F*ck Off Fund” — And How It Evolves as You Age

HerMoney with Jean Chatzky

Jean Chatzky Her Money

Investing, Business

4.7 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 11 February 2026

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What does financial freedom really mean? Not just a healthy retirement account or a growing investment portfolio, but the ability to walk away from a situation that isn’t right. To say no. To have choices. In this episode, Jean sits down with writer and speaker Paulette Perhach, whose essay about building a “F*ck Off Fund” has resonated with women for nearly a decade. Together, they explore how financial independence evolves over a lifetime, from the early years of building an emergency cushion to the later years of protecting your retirement, your relationships, and your sense of agency. In this episode, we discuss: What a “F*ck Off Fund” really is, and why it doesn’t have to be a huge number to change your life Why financial independence is about more than money The power of small boundaries and everyday decisions How to talk to daughters, nieces, and younger women about money Why many women still feel financially fragile, even when they’re doing everything “right” How financial independence evolves as you approach retirement Resources Mentioned in This Episode Join InvestingFixx (HerMoney’s twice-monthly women’s investing club) Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard The Paradox of Choice Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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1:01.0	Imagine you have any choice.
1:03.2	Would you choose this if you had whatever choice you wanted?
1:07.3	And giving yourself more and more choice and raising your standards higher and higher,
1:11.9	I think that has been a great joy of my life and really respecting not just there's like acceptable
1:18.0	behavior, but then there's being impressed and admiring everyone you work with.
1:22.8	And so facilitating that you can move up that scale, almost like a hierarchy of needs within your
1:28.5	working environment and your personal environment, that is such a joy.
1:33.6	Hey, everyone, and welcome to her money. I'm Gene Chatsky. There's a kind of financial
1:39.2	freedom that we don't talk about nearly enough, not the kind that shows up on a net worth statement,
1:45.2	but the kind, the kind that gives you options, the kind that lets you walk away from a bad
	...

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