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The Wisdom of The Uncles

We all have the normal side of our family, and the wacky/weird/cooky side. If you can't think of which part of your family is the odd one, you might be in for a bit of a surprise upon further self-reflection. My uncles on my mum's side are my cooky family, hands down.

My dad's family is incredibly fun, supportive, tight-knit, and much larger. They're also two provinces away. That's not to say I love them less, know them less, or our relationship is somehow less. It's just a lot easier to get one whole side of the family together when they're only two cities away (give or take a ferry).

When my ex and I broke up and I began to really look at my debt, I asked them for general financial advice, telling them I planned to have my debt dealt with right away. They reaffirmed what I was already thinking:

1. Decimate debt
2. Make sure you're contributing to your pension plan through work
3. Live frugally
4. Don't incur debt on depreciating assets
5. "Don't take on a man with debt, (see depreciating assets as above)"
6. Consider whether you want to be a renter or a buyer
7. Be careful about divorce

After receiving this advice, I felt I was on the right track. I was actively doing or thinking about all of the above. When I cleared my debt and had discovered FIRE, I contacted them again. "I have come again to the shrine of experience and nepotism for financial questions!", I wrote. Flattery never hurts. 

The first few points were reiterations of the original advice; staying debt-free is key, unless it's on something that is a smart investment (such as a house), stay with your pension plan, beware the damage of a bad partner, and live frugally.

The new additions to the sagely wisdom of self-made men were as follows:

8. Take care of your mental and physical health through a regular exercise routine and mental health practices
9. "Don't plan on not working for financial gain, plan on not having to"
10. Keep your cash savings small as inflation will make it worth less
10a. Index funds are good for long-term investments
11. Keep your family close as an invaluable asset

If you know FIRE, you'll see some striking similarities between the advice from my uncles, who came from nothing and built their lives into the very comfortable situations they have now by working hard and saving, and the basic principles you can read in just about any FIRE blog or book.

On the point about living frugally, my Uncle Kevin equated it directly to his older brother, my Uncle Chris, the eternal bachelor: 

"The key to Chris' frugality is that it's not a chore. Chris doesn't do without. He's genuinely happy with what he has. It happens to be far less than what most of our fellow citizens believe they need to be happy. We live in a crazed consumer oriented capitalist madhouse. I love it, but like my love of wine, I'm the boss not the wine advertisers. Enjoy life but be the boss."

I think my uncles are FIRE advocates and they don't even realize it.

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