«Fuck you money» is an essay by Joan Tubau —an economist, associate professor at Universitat Pompeu Fabra and creator of the Kapital podcast and newsletter— that sits between economic education and philosophy.
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Joan Tubau, economist and creator of the Kapital podcast and newsletter, places this essay between economic education and philosophy: he shows that wealth is not measured by what you spend but by the options you have. He teaches how to make money without losing your head, how to protect it and spend it wisely, and reframes saving not as sacrifice but as building calm, peace and future freedom. True wealth, he argues, is the ability to say no.
«Fuck you money» is an essay by Joan Tubau —an economist, associate professor at Universitat Pompeu Fabra and creator of the Kapital podcast and newsletter— that sits between economic education and philosophy. Its thesis is simple and provocative: wealth is not measured by what you spend but by the options you have. The so-called fuck-you money is the amount that lets you say "no" —to a boss, a client, a life you do not want— without your finances suffering. Tubau reframes saving not as sacrifice but as building calm, autonomy and time of your own, and reflects on the relationship between money, freedom and a meaningful life. It is not an investing manual or a get-rich method; it is a book about mindset and life strategy that connects personal finance with broader questions about how we want to live. A brisk read, with a critical tone and many references to behavioural economics.
For readers who want to rethink their relationship with money and time rather than learn to invest; less useful if you are looking for concrete saving or market techniques.
FactPublished in February 2026; its author, Joan Tubau, is the creator of the Kapital podcast and newsletter.
