On a @serailway.bsky.social train, watching some very upset fellow commuters being fined for having the ‘wrong’ ticket or for having waited until the staff member selling tickets had reached them, I am reminded of my friend Nando and his genius “fun budget” (or Spaß budget, in German) 1/n - ThreadSky

linkonrg.bsky.social • 7 days ago

On a @serailway.bsky.social train, watching some very upset fellow commuters being fined for having the ‘wrong’ ticket or for having waited until the staff member selling tickets had reached them, I am reminded of my friend Nando and his genius “fun budget” (or Spaß budget, in German) 1/n

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doctor-dolittle.bsky.social•7 days ago

I'm totally sold on this idea!

linkonrg.bsky.social•7 days ago

I was told about the Spaß budget >15 years ago, as I was about to move to the UK, and my good friend Nando, originally from Sauerland but then living in London, invited me to stay with him for a couple of days, a few months before the big move and my first job in editorial 2/n

linkonrg.bsky.social•7 days ago

Every year Nando would set aside a set amount of money (in his mind, rather than literally) that he would deduct from his annual salary and put into his fun budget. The amount varied, depending on his salary, but in 2009 it was about 1000€ 3/n

linkonrg.bsky.social•7 days ago

The name is actually a bit of a misnomer. As I’d wrongly assumed when he first told me about it, the fun budget was not intended to be spent on fun activities or buying fun things. Indeed, ideally, the fun budget would not be touched at all throughout the year. 4/n

linkonrg.bsky.social•7 days ago

The sole reason for the fun budget was to provide money for occasions that actually weren’t fun at all, for example, if you incurred a fine because you had the wrong ticket on a train. 5/n

linkonrg.bsky.social•7 days ago

Because the budget was (mentally) deducted from his annual salary at the start of the year, and therefore not included in any plans to be spent, reaching the end of the year w/out dipping into the fun budget would mean an ‘unexpected’ bonus on the 31st December 6/n

linkonrg.bsky.social•7 days ago

Much more important, to Nando, was the peace of mind that the fun budget bought. Confronted with not one but two parking tickets in the space of 24 hours (London, ey), Nando grinned at my dismayed face, shrugged, and stated quite happily: “Hey, it’s fine — paid for by the fun budget!” 7/n

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