Weird Places for Advice

Smokin' Gremlin here (for the record I do not actually smoke).  Sometimes the best advice you get is not from the smartest people you know, though usually it is.  This can also apply to people in pursuit of their financial independence (FI).  The FI community usually is excellent at finding deals and ways to save money.  However, sometimes better or new ideas can evolve with interactions with people beyond our mold.

The reason I say this is mainly due to a ton of great advice I have received from people who do not fit our style at all.  People who habitually spend a lot of money also have a penchant for finding ways to spend more of it.  In other words, many of them look for deals like crazy because they too are cash strapped.  Naturally the only difference is that FI folks usually put their extra funds into new securities and stocks, whereas spenders love new items or toys.

An example of this in my personal life is a friend of mine who constantly works to pay for debt.  Constantly working and paying it off, and spending too much money on other crap.  However, she has shown me more deals than anyone else because she truthfully loves shopping, or at least I think she does.  Do I need to find some cheap shoes? Bam, call her.  Did I crack my phone screen?  Call her.  Without a doubt, her lifestyle may sound like madness to most of us.  To each their own, which is perfect because if everyone in the world was working towards FI, imagine the inflated prices of some of our favorite stocks?  Sure, they might not rocket up, but it would make it more of a pain for us. 

However, it is not just monetary advice that I am referring.  Living a frugal lifestyle is excellent, but it should not be one that leaves you sad and disappointed.  One of my better friends is extremely frugal, but he was such to the point that he was missing out on somethings in life.  He turned it around and found passion for hobbies, which he has oddly turned into a money making venture.  Pretty wise for doing this, and fair to say that most of us cannot replicate that.  He is even more of a saver than myself and he invests as well, but prefers the index route.

He also gave me some great advice on dogs too.  Most people see pets as an income sink, it will not actively make us money.  While that is true, if you have a dog you cannot do what your other friends do.  You have to go home, early cannot blow through money as often by eating out or staying out late.  In a way they can save you some money as well.  That leads me to a new and very related point that my wife and I got a dog this past week.  That was totally unplanned, and in my mind at least 2 months away from happening.  So in rolling with the punches, I sucked it up, she got us the dog and he is a good little boy.

Anyways, back to the topic at hand.  You never know where great advice will come from.  Sometimes its the frugal person, which makes sense - yet they might be missing out on life at times.  Spenders can provide great ideas for us to save, so we should not let their advice slip away from us either.

Enjoy your weekend!
- Lifestyle Gremlin
- Long licks, belly rubs, and one slightly chewed TV remote