Paulette Perhach is a journalist who has been published in The New York Times, Slate, ELLE, Marie Claire, and Cosmo.
She catapulted to fame as an accidental personal finance writer after she published an article called The Story of an F-Off Fund.
This article tells the same narrative twice: in Scenario A, the protagonist in the story doesn’t have any emergency savings, and in Scenario B, she does. Paulette wrote this as a work of narrative fiction that vividly shows the power of an emergency fund, or as she rebrands it, an F-Off Fund.
This story went viral. More than a million people read it, it was translated into multiple languages, and it landed her a book deal and a major profile in the Seattle Times.
But we don’t talk about that until the end of the interview. Instead, we start our conversation by discussing something that happened 27 years ago. When Paulette was 8 years old, her parents declared bankruptcy. They lost their home; at one point Paulette recalls eating barbeque sauce on bread. If there’s someone who understands the significance of not having emergency savings, it’s Paulette and her family.
Unfortunately, the story takes an even more tragic turn from there. You’ll hear about that in the upcoming interview.
In spite of everything she’s been through — or perhaps because of it — Paulette decided that she was not going to waste her life in a cubicle.
When she became an adult, she worked a series of low-paying but enjoyable jobs, then she volunteered for the Peace Corps, then she got a well-paid gig to cash up for a bit, and then she went into full-time freelancing.
She’s hiked through jungles and watched eclipses and volunteered with the Peace Corps. She’s been on crazy adventures in far-flung places. She endured unimaginable pain and it’s because of those challenges — not despite them, but because of them — that she knows her one precious, wild life is too short to spend under fluorescent lights, drinking stale office coffee.
Many people who pursue financial independence are looking for a fully-funded lifestyle change. But Paulette made an unfunded change.
She’s made every decision by putting her life first, and then forcing her career to follow. She chases her artistic passions and figures out her finances along the way, often with mixed results.
What can we learn from her resourcefulness? Find out in this episode.
Resources Mentioned:
Books:
- The Overnight Resume by Donald Asher
- Regrets of the Dying by Bronnie Ware
- Essentialism by Greg McKeown
- Welcome to the Writers Life by Paulette Perhach
Web:
- Instagram: PauletteJPerhach
- Twitter: @PaulettePerhach
- F**kOffFund.com (with that first word spelled out)
- The Story of a F**k Off Fund (the article that went viral with more than one million readers, translated into multiple languages)
- The Ecuador Chautauqua: AbovetheCloudsRetreats.com
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Mark R.
Wow. An episode with real heart and emotion to it. I really liked this one! After listening to numerous financial podcasts for the past 3.5 years, they all start to sound kind of samey:
Spend less than you earn and invest in VTSAX. Done.
That’s why I loved the Suze Orman one. Who cares what she said, at least it was different and got people to raise their eyebrows!
This one was great. It had real emotion to it. Thanks for putting this one out there for us. Keep up the good work!
-Mark
Stephanie Jamgochian
Great interview with Paulette Perhach! I could relate on so many levels, I thought I was hearing myself speak when she talked about her childhood and upbringing. There are so many parallels it’s amazing. I too experienced immense financial stress as a child, with my Mom divorced from my Dad, who then failed to support us after living a very middle class life on the West Coast (we never lived on the beach, but in a coastal town), to living on Food Stamps, welfare, losing our house, my Mom juggling three kids, three minimum wage part time jobs, “creative” meal planning, and a bankruptcy. I too remember my Mom and I going “window shopping” for entertainment, trying clothing on, spinning around in the mirrors and then leaving them on the hangers at the store. I still remember getting this turquoise jean shirt with pearlized snaps at the local department store when I was 14. I begged my Mom for the shirt because it had been so long since I’d had anything new, and she reluctantly got out the credit card, which I’m sure she figured, at that point, “what’s one more charge?” and then sighed in resignation. I still have that shirt burned into my brain. I wore it till it faded and the fabric was smooth and shiny. I too also scraped the money together to go on a high school ski trip ($200! I remember that too!) after working three 10 hour days at the “Monster Ski Sale!” at the local fairgrounds. I was able to pay for part of my trip and get a jacket on sale-a guys jacket, of course. The cute girls coats were too expensive. I had my share of crappy high school jobs (washing dishes/bussing tables at a deli when I was 14-to this day I have an immense respect for food service workers. It’s still the hardest job I’ve ever had), to learning to drive on an old stick shift where the gear box would heat up and you’d have to turn the whole car off, which was an incredibly nerve-wracking experience! I too, also had low paying “career” jobs out of college, but finally landed a solid job in fundraising, only to realize, I’m not doing this anymore/working for “the man” and quit three years later to start my own business. I’m still self employed, 14 years later (although I switched careers-again! I am now an artist), and also, a lifelong learner. Thanks Paula and Paulette for your podcast! I always enjoy listening.
Rick
Paula you have the skill of allowing people to tell thier story through actively listening and not judging. When your friend Paula tried to give a short summary of her early years you had the wisdom of saying, slow down tell me more, and then not competing for the spotlight with your own storyline. Very powerful episode because of your disciple to let her speak and her trust in you that you were there to listen and support her.
Laurie
Paula, you have the coolest friends! I was so touched by Paulette’s story. I got a bit teary eye when she talked about the moment when her mom gave her the news about her dad’s passing at school. I can see how it changed her priorities and motivated her to live to the fullest. It’s a raw story that is so REAL.