Being an uncle changes how you think about money.
When my nieces and nephew hand me crayon drawings of dinosaurs or demand I sit through another round of “Let’s Pretend the Couch Is Lava,” I don’t think about my net worth. I think about legacy. About what kind of scaffolding I’m building so they can climb higher than I did.
That’s the real “Uncle Mike” strategy: not chasing the flashiest gains, but stacking bricks that last. Bricks made of time, patience, and resilience. Things boring enough that the kids won’t even notice them until one day — boom — they realize someone quietly built a staircase for them.
So instead of trying to double my money overnight, I focus on the kind of moves that compound quietly. The kind you don’t brag about at family dinners but that still show up decades later in college funds, trust accounts, or even just the relief that “someone had our back.”
Here’s the kicker: you don’t need nieces or nephews to do this. You can play “Uncle Mike” for your future self. Think of your portfolio as a long-term gift. Wrap it up with discipline, patience, and humility. Hand it to your future self with a bow.
Investing isn’t just about returns. Sometimes it’s about responsibility. The “Uncle Mike” strategy is simply this: leave people better off than you found them — financially, emotionally, generationally.
Leave a Reply