Clipping Chains Podcast

From a market perspective, history has always favored the unfazed, the patient, the forgetful. Drastic action in times of great uncertainty is almost always the wrong move. Time and again—just like now—people convinced themselves of imminent disaster. And in nearly all cases, they were wrong. Financial writers and hardened optimists are right to remind us: “This time isn't different.”But I'll be straight with you: This time might be different. Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeSubscribe to the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

I've made it my goal over the past few years to steer people toward financial independence but away from early retirement. I have many reasons, and I've laid those out over numerous blog posts and podcast episodes. These are the big themes: Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeSubscribe to the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

I've drifted in and out of the meritocracy trap over the years, but mostly, I've stayed stuck in its sticky web. I quickly learned the value of good grades and securing better jobs. Once I landed a good job and the race to secure it was over, I descended into despair at the thought of doing it for the next forty years. Fast-forward a decade, and financial independence allowed me to sidestep the meritocracy trap. However, this too felt like another shiny merit badge. When I reached that point, I looked around and realized, like a bus rider stepping off at the wrong stop: damn it—this isn't it.Who would have thought you couldn't find happiness by looking for it? Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeSubscribe to the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

My wife and I stood at the edge of the world—or at least what felt like it—squinting through the murk and sea spray to snap photos of a decommissioned lighthouse. Less like some beacon of hope, its white tower loomed like a ghost, haunting the craggy cliffs of coastal Victoria and my vacation prospects. We'd arrived at the sleepy Victorian coastal town of Port Fairy expecting sunshine, a pleasant breeze—and if not asking too much—maybe a kangaroo or two bounding in silhouette against the sunset. Instead, a spectrum of misery lay before us: wind that could strip the paint from a car and rain in erratic, bipolar bursts. Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeSubscribe to the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

Australians, it seems, are utterly smitten with coffee. The beverage of choice appears to be the flat white, a silky yet buttoned-down cousin to the latte or cappuccino. We landed in Sydney at dawn, dragging two hefty bags from baggage claim. Our first order of business was to snag a flat white before leaving the terminal. Ever the minimalist, I settled for an espresso, watching the crowd in a bleary-eyed daze, squinting at the sun as if it were a new concept. My wife, meanwhile, sat busy photographing her artfully swirled toothpick masterpiece. Soon enough, we embraced the day and ventured out into the land of sculpted asses in Bondi Beach. Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeSubscribe to the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

They say that grief comes on like a tsunami, a wave of incredible power and uncontrollable force that washes over us. The metaphors are many—trains and dump trucks, roller coasters and rivers—and they all check out. Grief comes on hard and renders us powerless in its wake. But I've been consumed less by a powerful force and more by the emptiness of where something used to be. Because grief is, after all, an empty hole. And it hurts because I allowed myself to love so deeply and unexpectedly. After all, loving never came easy until I met this dog. Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeSubscribe to the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

Retirement is often an ideal detached from reality. When overwhelmed by daily routines, it's easy to imagine retirement as a stress-free life with a blank calendar and complete freedom. However, retirement often brings unexpected psychological challenges, including a lack of purpose, boredom, relationship strain, and a troubling sense of isolation.Today's guest, David Champion, retired from his software development career at 53. Nearly five years later, a line from one of his blog posts for Can I Retire Yet? titled Confessions of an Early Retiree jumped off the page. He wrote: “I am a proponent of retiring as early as possible.” While he had no regrets about retiring early, he later admitted to experiencing significant psychological challenges. In our conversation, David reconciles his “no regrets” view of early retirement with the difficulties of adapting to life without traditional work. Throughout, David highlights the need for self-awareness and embracing one's true identity to find fulfillment in retirement (and climbing). Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeSubscribe to the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

Perhaps no one has quit their job like my guest today, Cory Richards. Richards, still a world-renowned photographer, abruptly ended his career as an elite mountaineer in April 2021 at the foot of the world's seventh-highest peak. Over several days, Richards experienced what he later described as a mixed bipolar episode.With one hundred thousand dollars spent and a film in the works, Richards announced to his team at Dhaulagiri's cold and windblown base camp that he was quitting—not just the expedition, but climbing altogether. He told his livid teammates he planned to move to Los Angeles to pursue filmmaking and writing. The pressure cooker of personal history, fame, high achievement, and perhaps the exhaustion of living someone else's life boiled over.In 2011, Richards became the first and only American to climb one of the world's 8000-meter peaks in winter. On the descent, the team narrowly escaped death in an avalanche. In the aftermath, Richards snapped the iconic frozen selfie that adorned the cover of National Geographic's 125th-anniversary issue. He was the 2012 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year and a 2014 National Geographic Photographer Fellow. He summited Everest without oxygen, garnering over two billion media impressions with his partner Adrian Ballinger as they Snapchatted their way up the mountain in 2016.For years, people lived vicariously through him. He garnered over a million Instagram followers. Everyone told him he had the dream job. He traveled nine months each year across the globe to distant and stunningly beautiful lands to climb and take pictures. But in his own words, he “hated it.” He was an addict, fueling a burning fire with alcohol, sex, and tremendous pressure to do more and go bigger in increasingly deadly circumstances. Then it all fell apart.His memoir, The Color of Everything, is set to release on July 9. It's a gripping and shockingly frank account of Cory's life struggles. From his adolescent mental health diagnosis to a life of addiction and denial, he's found the slow path toward acceptance. This is a story of personal growth, societal pressures, and the complex interplay between vulnerability, achievement, and emotional resilience. Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeSubscribe to the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

Recently, I've been increasingly conflicted by several dueling experiences and sensations:Reduced Stress: Since departing from the Standard Corporate Office Environment (SCOE), I've enjoyed decreased stress and anxiety levels. While stress has its upsides, reducing chronic stress is foundational to living a good life.Mounting pressure to be part of society. I've been working on this project for six years, but being a home-based blogger and podcaster isn't fully satisfying some of the key pillars of a meaningful life.Decreased Motivation: I'm finding it hard to engage tasks not entirely aligned with my vision of a good life. Paradoxically, a good life involves doing hard things.Here's the good news on how to maintain a strong financial base and do work you love. Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeSubscribe to the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

Imagine being faced with the daunting task of predicting the future with nothing but incomplete information and a handful of hunches. Perhaps you're considering new experiences, like travel or moving to a different town. When I imagined quitting my job, I envisioned a happier world, free from the perceived burden of corporate work. In the following months, however, my expectations were shattered upon realizing that I still largely felt the same despite my newfound freedom. In recent years, this recognition has remained vivid, sparking my curiosity about why predicting outcomes in the face of uncertainty is so difficult. Whether anticipating a geopolitical event, forecasting stock market trends, or simply contemplating life's next move, accurate prediction is an ever-present challenge. As I began to journal in earnest some years ago, I uncovered a fascinating trend hidden between the mundane details: my predictions were fraught with overblown concern and startling inaccuracy. Delving into the complexities of prediction and expertise, it becomes clear that many factors—from biases and cognitive distortions to the whims of randomness—shape our perceptions of certainty and accuracy. Despite these hurdles, new research offers a glimmer of hope. Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeSubscribe to the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

In 1949, a college junior named Barbara Beattie wrote a letter for a school journalism assignment. We can only speculate on Beattie's youthful expectations: Was she so naive to expect a response, or were these different times? She'd written playwright Arthur Miller at a time when the Broadway run of his most famous work, The Death of a Salesman, was in full swing. He had every reason to ignore a college student's inquiries into the “formal genesis” of his now-legendary work. What Beattie received–a sprawling and deeply thoughtful essay on man's common and timeless tragedies–must have impacted her greatly. After all, she's kept it for seventy-five years. Beattie's daughter found the letter when helping her mother, now 94, move out of her home. Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeSubscribe to the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

In normal times, rent prices, like most everything else, slowly yet surely increase at about 2-3% per year. This is inflation. But in terms of the housing market, these aren't normal times. In the pandemic era, as demand surged in supply-restricted markets, both sale and rent prices soared, with year-over-year inflation rates at 30% or more in some markets. To speak generally of the world of pricing, what goes up might come down. So, when I approached our landlord a few weeks back about lowering the price of our rent, she wasn't so surprised. Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeSubscribe to the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chronic pain—pain lasting at or beyond three months—affected over 20% of U.S. adults, or 51.6 million people, in 2021. Symptoms were severe enough to substantially restrict daily activity for 6.9% of Americans that same year. And with chronic pain comes soaring medical costs, pharmaceutical over-reliance, and addiction. Mounting multidisciplinary research suggests that most chronic pain is not of structural origin. In other words, most chronic pain can not be directly attributed to injury or physical abnormality. Neuroplastic pain results from the brain misinterpreting signals from the body as if they were dangerous. We habituate to pain, creating behaviors that either avoid pain or alleviate symptoms. Encouragingly, those undergoing a psychological treatment known as Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) are showing vast improvements in pain management without pharmaceutical or other medical interventions. One major study found that two-thirds of chronic back pain patients were pain-free or nearly pain-free after four weeks of PRT interventions. In addition, patients showed visible changes in the prefrontal brain regions associated with pain after therapy. While psychological treatments are effective in managing chronic pain, this does not imply that the pain is imaginary. My guest today, Miriam Gauci Bongiovanni, suffered needlessly until she discovered the concept of neuroplastic pain. Today, now pain-free, she works from her home in Malta as a Certified MindBody Practitioner and Trauma-Informed Coach. But beyond her skills as a wonderful teacher and educator on chronic pain, I found her story of embracing a nontraditional career fascinating. Today we dive in on everything from how our personalities and fears inform our pain cycles to living a good life.   Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeSubscribe to the website: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com Topics Discussed with Miriam Gauci BongiovanniMiriam's history with debilitating pain and the methods she used to cure itWhat is neuroplastic pain?Cycles of worry that feed neuroplastic pain: How fear contributes to body tension and muscle spasmsWhy neuroplastic pain often develops from real injuriesWhy emotional experiences are creating real physical changes in the bodyThe role of personality on neuroplastic pain and who is most likely to sufferConditioning and pain triggersKey indicators of neuroplastic painHow neuroplastic pain can imprint on structural painThe nocebo effect, expectations of painWhy continuing to see practitioners (PT, etc) can contribute to neuroplastic painWhy exercises aimed at injury prevention may not be usefulSomatic tracking and learning to explore painful sensationsThe importance of play on pain mitigationMiriam's personality and personal journey. How frustration at work resulted in painThe importance of accountability and individual agency in pain managementThe danger of hiding our stressLiving a nontraditional life and career: challenges and rewardsSo much more!

If you haven't noticed, the concept of achievement and even competitiveness has weighed heavily on my mind as of late. A gift of the nontraditional life is the opportunity to step back and see the world around us with a degree of unusual clarity, far from the treadmill. For years I valued athletic and professional progress in ways that weren't making my life better, but I thought they were. I searched for and implemented solutions to the wrong problems. Meanwhile, what truly mattered—mainly my relationships—withered on the vine. The journey toward rectifying these tendencies continues today. My guest today, Lincoln Stoller, is a former mountaineer who now specializes in psycho-, hypno-, and neurofeedback therapy, in tandem with numerous other counseling and coaching services. Lincoln holds a PhD in Theoretical and Mathematical Physics from UT Austin, including a post-doc assignment at UC Berkley. Lincoln eventually moved from quantum physics to create a management and automation software platform for businesses, learned to build Norwegian log homes, traveled and lived abroad in far-flung foreign lands, and is even a certified pilot. To say Lincoln lives well outside of the bounds of normalcy is probably a half-truth at best. As he says in the interview, we should “just keep doing out-of-the-box stuff. And if people are calling you a little crazy or a little nutty, then you probably aren't exploring enough of the boundaries.” Today's conversation revolves around the high-risk potential of hard-charging performers and achievers, whether they exist in sports, business, or other areas of life. While these individuals hold our collective attention and admiration, Lincoln outlines how their psychological roots run shallow. They often struggle to stay satisfied with themselves or those around them. Lincoln might even say he holds an anti-hard-man philosophy. I think you'll see why. Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeSubscribe to the website: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com Topics Discussed with Lincoln StollerQuantum physics to therapist/coachLincoln's history in mountaineering amongst some of the legends of the sportWhy almost all climbers are “high-risk”“Resilience is not throwing yourself at a climb until you are torn and bloody, it's exploring your limits and working them gracefully.”Why some people crave riskEmotions on the rock and exploration and mastering of triggersGetting past societal expectations of productivityCan satisfied people be high performers?How dissatisfaction can lead to pathology: “If you're not satisfied with yourself, you won't be satisfied with anyone else, either.”Is competition healthy?Is personal growth selfish?What is productive suffering and why is it important?Taking ownership: the dysfunctional mental model that experts can solve our problemsHow high performers can assess mental health concerns that might not be apparentRelationships with parents and why these are often commonly fraught“You can't change people directly. You can only change people indirectly by changing yourself.”The importance of doing out-of-the-box stuff and why it's okay to be considered differentHigh achievement and the difficulty with love and long-term relationships

The concept of play conjures the image of my three-year-old (and blonder) self, plastic shovel in hand, amorphous stains down the front of my pants. And certainly slobber. Lots of slobber. That three-year-old was certainly not concerned with social hierarchy or status, lacking a whiff of ambition to put the best version of himself forward. He played with a shovel in the sand because something needed to be dug and that was all that mattered.As we age (and start to exhibit bladder control) the nature of play changes but is not altogether lost, at least not at first. Instead of digging in the sand, we might play a game of Twister, something I played as late as my college years. I challenge you to toss out that board on the floor—putting your head through someone else's legs—and try and stay serious and stoic. It's impossible. You'll be giggling like a child. And that's the point. We need more play. Source of Inspiration: Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life  (Bill Burnett, Dave Evans)Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeSubscribe to the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

For four years I've watched something slowly bloom. In my old life, the “before time” you might call it, I moved from task to task. If I wasn't working, I unknowingly made a practice of turning recreational or hobbyist pursuits into something that, from an outsider's perspective, looked an awful lot like work. Goals and accolades were everything, and the more quantifiable, the better. But the farther I've separated myself from this life in space and time, the more clarity I've gained. Grasping for metaphors, I was tempted to explain this budding awareness as a slowly growing flower. But for perhaps all the wrong reasons, I hesitated to describe my growth and awareness as floral, preferring to drop the metaphor. But I can't quite shake it, because I have watched something slowly grow. It's not me that has bloomed–again, all the wrong imagery–but it is the world I could not see then. I could not see the flawed logic buried in the cold and wet earth because I identified with it. It was my life, so I could not reject what protected me. And four years later I've watched something slowly take root. Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeSubscribe to the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

When we make important decisions, we are often not as rational or objective as we'd like to believe. The base rate fallacy is the tendency to misjudge the probability of a situation by not accounting for all relevant information. This cognitive bias affects everything from first impressions to voting preferences to broad market behavior. Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeSubscribe to the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

If you follow economic news at all, you've taken note of the changing conditions of the American housing economy in the last few years. First, high demand, low supply, and cheap debt fueled an extraordinary (and unhealthy) price surge. In response, the Federal Reserve ratcheted up interest rates to cool an overheated economy in the wake of pandemic-related disruptionsIn years prior, economic conditions supported a vast proliferation of real estate investment. Individual investors to multinational corporations scooped up properties across the country for cheap. The returns were fantastic. But in my mind, those days were decidedly over.When my guest today, Michael Farnsworth, discussed his novel concept of real estate investment, I was all ears. Do many of the real estate investment rules-of-thumb still function in a world of 7%+ mortgage rates and all-time high prices? Is now really the time to start a real estate investment portfolio? Is this even the time to buy a personal residence? And when it comes to short-term rentals, what are the ethical considerations to local economies and community fabric? We cover all this and more in today's episode. Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeSubscribe to the website: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com Topics Discussed with Michael FarnsworthThe “Triangle of Death:” Michael's unique form of House Hacking2024 climbing goals: 100th first-try 5.12 and V10Stock market vs real estate investingMichael's struggle with remote work and feeling groundedThe characteristics of a real estate investorThe viability of real estate investing in a high-interest and low-supply (e.g., expensive) marketMichael's ongoing landlord nightmare scenarioDecision to leave his traditional career to pursue property management full-timeIntellectual stimulation without a traditional jobFinancial metrics and characteristics of the ideal rental propertyUnderstanding costs and the importance of detailed accountingWhen and how much to raise rentsNontraditional means of mortgage fundingConsiderations on property managersEthical considerations of short-term rentals (Airbnb, etc)Michael's ideal lifestyleSuffering from lupus and two kidney transplantsSo much more!

We're back to the digital mailbag to answer your questions!For this week:An update on markets and our personal finance situationThe role of dividends in growth and withdrawal assumptionsExpectations vs reality on a life of financial independenceOur experience with health insurance without employer-sponsored plansReal estate investing: an update on our experiences and economics as remote landlordsHealth insurance considerations for long-term travelShort- to medium-term savings goals (like a house) versus saving for retirementLoss of purpose without a traditional jobSo much more! Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeSubscribe to the website: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com Q1: What's the latest on markets and your financial situation since you left your corporate career? (00:02:38) Q2: Expectations versus experiences on the financially independent life (00:16:33) Q3: Could you provide an update on your experiences and costs with ACA (Obamacare) insurance? (00:27:42) Q4: I'd like to hear any details you're willing to share on your remote landlord experience (00:39:36) Q5: My partner and I are taking a sabbatical! What should we do about insurance? (00:50:30) Q6: How do I prioritize retirement savings against saving for short- to medium-term savings goals, like buying a house? (00:56:20) Q7: Why are we so concerned about the loss of purpose when we stop working a traditional job? (01:04:31)

When I left my corporate career in early 2020, I didn't fully understand the ways that I would, in later years, slowly become decoupled and desynchronized from a society that values hustle, status, and self-worth generated to a large degree around our career titles. You'll read the same thing repeatedly on the internet: Ignore the haters, do your thing.But when I actually sit down and talk with those who are living similar lives, regardless of their financial position, I find that the tidy internet talking points leave many of us dissatisfied. After all, humans are one of the most social species on the planet. We shouldn't be surprised by the difficulty in overriding instinct, to go against the grain of what the herd values most. My thinking has evolved dramatically on this subject in recent years, so let's dig in. Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeGet the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

By popular demand, I've decided to extend a travel series centered around the topic of building community or maintaining our need for social interactions when away from home. Community building is especially complicated when abroad, where cultures and languages vary considerably from our own. My guests today, veteran travelers with considerable expat experiences, are perfectly suited to discuss this topic. Meghan Walker, a previous guest who writes at awaytofi.com, spent many of her formative years living abroad in Kenya and New Zealand. Her husband, Callan Cooper, is an expat living in the United States from New Zealand, where they met. Meghan and Callan joined me in my home in Colorado for a rare in-person interview, where we discussed in detail the beauty and challenges of international extended travel, careers, evolving travel philosophies, and financial tactics that can have you living a similar life much sooner than you think. Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeGet the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

I'm a little unsure of the best way to frame this introduction. In some ways, this is a story of embracing climbing for all the right reasons. Pursuit of technical mastery and love for the outdoors over the gamification of grades and emphasis on physical training. On the other hand, this is also the story of early adulthood in the modern era. The narrative to pursue something like climbing full-time is strong in the outdoor world. But most I encounter eventually find that climbing alone leaves us yearning for meaning and purpose. My guest today, Tyler Karow, spent nearly three years on the road pursuing climbing. Today he balances considerable climbing achievements with a secondary passion for building and a desire to be a part of the solution to America's affordable housing crisis.Karow is a 29-year-old climber known for his big wall accomplishments in Yosemite, Patagonia, and around the globe. His resume includes a ground-up free ascent of Golden Gate (5.13a) on El Cap, and Yosemite's Triple Crown in under 24 hours, only the eighth time this feat has been achieved. Notably, Karow climbed the Triple while working a full-time (plus) job. He holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Southern California and is a licensed civil engineer and general contractor. With this background in engineering and construction, he envisions a career helping to build prefabricated tiny home communities. This emerging approach to construction helps to reduce the cost of new housing and more efficiently add supply to a stressed housing market.This episode is an Oreo of sorts, with a focused discussion of Tyler's climbing achievements and work/life balance in the beginning and end. The middle of this discussion takes a deep dive into the affordable housing crisis, the complex nature of new construction, and Tyler's vision for the future of American affordable housing. Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeGet the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

In October I published a mini episode on my thought processes on the pros and cons of extended travel abroad. Many of you left comments or emailed me your thoughts, and I'm so thankful for your input. You've all given me plenty to consider. One of the most insightful emails came from Jeff of awaytofi.com, a previous guest on this podcast (Episode 44). Jeff has been living abroad for over fifteen months with his wife, Rose, and as such is well-versed in discussing the impacts of extended travel, particularly on our social lives. This week's episode is an in-depth exploration of extended travel, especially as it relates to our human need for a sense of place and community. Travel takes us away from our tribe, so how do we create new ones? Do we even need to? You can probably expect more content like this with upcoming guests and articles. Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeGet the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

Uncertainty is a fact of life, yet we yearn for known outcomes. Every day we make decisions. Some decisions are small and inconsequential, while others are profound and life-altering. Sometimes events happen regardless of our decisions. And above it all and looming like a nervous wind is uncertainty. Uncertainty is forever.But those who learn to sit with and embrace uncertainty are resilient and innovative. Those who try to fight uncertainty spend more money and live with less contentment. Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeGet the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

James McHaffie needs no introduction, at least in the United Kingdom. His approach to bold onsight climbing, particularly free solos, is unparalleled. He's repeated the hardest sport climb in Wales, Big Bang (9a), sent Britain's hardest sea cliff, Dave MacLeod's The Longhope Direct (E10 7a), and made the first ascent of The Meltdown, a 9a slab in the slate quarries of his home in North Wales. And now he's written a book. But unlike many books released by elite climbers, this is not an autobiographical account of hard climbs in the face of relative adversity. Caff, as he prefers to be called, has written a fictional account of Eleri, a young woman amongst the slate quarries of North Wales who in the aftermath of a family suicide takes aim at British politicians who pushed for austerity and the conditions that led to such suffering. This conversation was such a gift. I can see even through all that rage that James is brimming with humanity, a trait sometimes in short supply. I hope you'll enjoy this one as much as I did. Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeGet the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com Topics Discussed with James McHaffieDiscovering the Welsh rave scene after a midlife crisisLife and climbing in WalesClimbing origin story and why James gravitated toward soloingThe pressure to be boldWhy James isn't as well known in the USA near-death experience on the Masters Wall and how that affected his confidenceThe concept of modesty and how it has evolved in recent years: “Social media has been a shotgun to the head of modesty”The infamous Rab blog and why he wants to separate himself from his “Dark Lord” reputationBalancing financial security with elite climbingThe best job James ever had and why it is important for him to work with the underservedDealing with depression and dark times through his workThe events that inspired a novelA brief political debate and the role of public policy in shaping the lives of the poorDetails about the novel and his drive to write itHis 9-month experience writing the bookWhat financial security means to James and how he would live with financial freedomWhat James would change to make his life more meaningful in the futureSo much more!

Years ago, we decided to one day try living abroad for at least a year. We always loved traveling and also always felt that we never had enough time to truly experience a place beyond the superficial. I wanted to stay for a while, learn the language, and slowly morph into a new life mode. But now I'm starting to question the wisdom of this decision. Is living abroad a bad idea? Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeGet the FREE newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

It's often said that happiness equals what you have minus (or sometimes divided by) what you want. When our wants are many, what we have is of little consequence. That is why there are hordes of unhappy millionaires and high achievers who quietly suffer (yes, suffer) under the weight of lofty and insatiable desires and ambitions. Western ideals place great importance on the “haves.” And despite an anecdotal feeling that my greater social circle is less materialistic, I'm less certain that we've diminished our appetite for having things. The things look and feel different. Less like fancy watches or cars or gaudy showings of riches and more like spreadsheets full of countries and crags unvisited, food not tasted, status not yet achieved, or routes not sent. We believe subconsciously or otherwise that by checking items off our bucket list we will arrive at some sense of blissful satisfaction. But biology and evolution suggest otherwise. Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeGet the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

Jim Dahle is the founder of the White Coat Investor, a widely consumed personal finance and investing blog and podcast specifically designed for physicians and other high-income careers. What Jim created in 2011 as a simple blog has grown into a multi-media empire that now employs fifteen people and hosts content from a range of columnists.Jim has cut back from his full-time (plus) emergency physician career and White Coat Investor responsibilities to focus on what makes life worth living, and that's where I wanted to pick up this conversation. Jim is a climber, husband, and father of four. Today we discuss how he's managed to step away, at least slightly, from his hard-charging career and blogging days to what he's now describing as his ideal life. Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeGet the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com Topics Discussed with Jim DahleHow his life evolved from his early career and his adventures from the summer of 2023The Venn diagram of ideal life vs. actual life and why he feels he is living his ideal lifeJim's motivation to monetize White Coat Investor (WCI) and how that led to unexpected lifestyle changesThoughts on keeping WCI sustainableThe importance of the servant mentalityThe events that led to Jim cutting to part-time emergency room physicianHow much career capital is necessary to ask for part-time hours in your career?Why Jim passed on several multi-million dollar deals to sell WCIThoughts on early retirement for those who are young (

In America, student loan debt has exploded over the last twenty years, with the average inflation-adjusted federal loan debt per student rising from under $29,000 in 2011 to nearly $40,000 in 2020. Students and their parents are paying an increasingly costly price for college education, outpacing growth in expected starting salaries.After more than three years, loan payments are coming due again after the expiration of a Covid-era forbearance program put in place under President Trump and extended under President Biden. My guest today, Emma Crawford, is intimately familiar with student loans as both a borrower as well as a former university aid advisor, and now as a financial planner.Emma Crawford is the former Director of Financial Wellness and Financial Aid Advising for the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. She holds the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation and is a fee-only financial planner for Perk Planning, based out of Madison, Wisconsin. Emma joins me on the show today to discuss the evolving and complicated world of student loans for the first two-thirds of the show. The final third of the interview is dedicated to discussing the equally convoluted world of financial planners and advisors. We discuss the nature of fee-only advising and who may find this type of service appropriate. Topics Discussed with Emma CrawfordWhen student loan payments are due after the expiration of Covid-era forbearanceWhere to find information about your loans and loan servicersHow Emma used the loan forbearance period to improve her financial situation and lifestyleThe importance of automatic payments and how utilizing automation can save you moneyWhat is Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) and who is it for?Other repayment optionsInvestigating typical interest rates on student loans and weighing debt paydown against other investing opportunitiesFederal vs private student loansCan loan forgiveness policies be reversed or overturned in the future?Why has student loan debt become so politically fraught?Balancing the cost of education with expected career choices and payConsidering costs of education beyond tuitionHow to avoid loan default and what happens to those who defaultHow Emma pays off student loans and other debt while investing for retirement at the same timeWho needs a financial advisor and how to choose oneThe importance of understanding how financial advisors get paid and the fiduciary dutyThe problem with mixing life insurance and investingHow Emma's background in psychology helps her as a financial plannerEmma's thoughts on the FIRE movementSo much more! Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeGet the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

We're back to the digital mailbag to answer your questions!For this week:How has my lifestyle evolved since achieving financial independence and how do I spend my time?Updated thoughts on money and marketsAre we putting too much faith in institutions like Vanguard?Can and should life insurance policies be used for retirement savings?Tax avoidance versus accepting higher tax ratesWhat is a Simple IRA and how does it differ from a 401(k)? Can I still do Roth conversions?Savings rates are great! Should I pay less on my loans to maximize my savings?Big picture: Where do I start on getting my financial life together?Outreach and presentationsSo much more! Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeSubscribe to the website: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com Q1: How has my lifestyle evolved since achieving financial independence and how do I spend my time? (00:02:49) Q2: Updated thoughts on money and markets (00:05:01) Q3: What if Vanguard failed?! (00:07:53) Q4: Can and should life insurance policies be used for retirement savings? (00:11:56) Q5: When do I stop trying to optimize my tax bracket and just let go? (00:15:30) Q6: What is a Simple IRA and how does it differ from a 401(k)? Can I still do Roth conversions? (00:18:56) Q7: Savings rates are great right now! Should I pay less on my loans to maximize my savings? (00:22:39) Q8: Big picture: Where do I start on getting my financial life together?(00:26:26) Q9: How was your presentation at the climbing gym? Can you record it? (00:34:51) Q10: Can you supply podcast transcripts? (00:40:27)

Dave Rosen is a climber and ophthalmologist in his final year of residency. And Dave grew up like so many of us: broadly exposed to the importance of money and taught a thing or two about saving, but investing was a foreign concept and his lack of knowledge was a source of shame.While Dave skimmed over it, he's no slouch as a climber. He has bagged a pile of double-digit boulder problems up to V12, sent 5.13c, and developed numerous boulder problems, particularly in the South Mountain area near Phoenix where he and his wife lived for medical school for four years. He is hard-working, analytical, and pragmatic in his career and life approach. In this conversation, we discuss how Dave found climbing from the world of canyoneering, his early exposure to money and how that has markedly changed in recent years, the constant pull of greener grass, working backward from an ideal lifestyle, and the ethical and moral dilemmas of early retirement. Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeGet the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

Frugality is an endearing element of saving money and living the good life. But interestingly, the recent discourse in personal finance circles has seemingly shifted to embrace spending over saving. What is going on, how did this happen, and why should we care? Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeGet the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

In the summer of 2020, we sold our home in Denver, Colorado. Once all the costs were tallied, we were shocked to see the return on our home ownership investment. Should we have rented instead? Today we revisit this post in light of our recent move. Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeGet the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

Mike Piper is a CPA and the creator of the Oblivious Investor blog, where he teaches a philosophy of simple and low-maintenance investing.Mike's simple philosophy distills down to three primary principles:Diversify your portfolioMinimize costs (commissions, fees, mutual fund expenses, taxes)Ignore the noise.Mike began his career as a CPA before realizing he could support himself by writing books. Surprisingly, he left his secure job during the 2008 financial crisis. He has gone on to publish seventeen books and is widely considered an expert in social security, tax, and a number of other personal finance topics. His work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Morningstar, to name a few. Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeGet the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

I'm revisiting a post published almost exactly two years ago. At the time of writing, I'd been away from my corporate job for eighteen months. I spent six months of that time living in a tiny A-frame camper with my wife and dog before resettling in the St. George, Utah area.I was climbing a lot and working on this website, but I can now comfortably admit that I was in a bit of a low spot in terms of overall life satisfaction. The issue was one of expectations. In other words, I expected too much about a life without my career and I took for granted elements of my work life that enhanced life satisfaction. I was feeling stale with this project—I wouldn't start the podcast until late summer—and despite having all the time in the world to dedicate to the craft of climbing, I was slowly coming to the realization that I'd used climbing as an attempt to fill a void that was not yet clearly defined or outlined.Two years later, I've spent considerable time addressing each of the areas discussed in this post, to varying degrees of success. Stay tuned in the coming weeks and months for other changes still ongoing. Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeGet the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

Today on episode 64 I'm excited to welcome Priti and Jeff Wright, two accomplished young professional alpinists from Seattle, WA. In 2020, Priti, a software developer, and Jeff, a mechanical engineer at Boeing, embarked on a year-long sabbatical to travel across the globe and climb alpine objectives in Patagonia, France, and Pakistan, finishing by the beach in Hawaii.The trip was wildly successful, even amid the raging pandemic, including ascents of the Cerro Torre, the six classic North Faces of the Alps in a single season (including the Eiger North Face in winter), culminating in the first ascent of K6 Central and the third ascent of K6 West—both 7000+-meter peaks—in the Karakoram Range of Pakistan.In contrast to early retirement, Priti and Jeff make the compelling case for a traditional career peppered with sabbaticals. This episode is filled with lifestyle and career philosophy, planning concepts, detailed financial considerations, and just a damn good time. And they are even planning their next sabbatical in 2024, which will look drastically different than their trip in 2020. You won't want to miss this one. Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeGet the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

Financial independence won't solve life's problems. We will never “arrive.” We will never achieve perfection. An impactful 2018 study, nicknamed the Blue Dot Effect, helps us to understand the mind's tendency toward finding problems, even where none exist. The results have broad implications for individuals and members of a progressing society. Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeGet the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

Since the financial crisis of 2008, two dominant views on stock market investing have emerged:Stock market investing is volatile and risky, akin to gambling.Stock market investing is reliable and free money.The Great Recession produced a decline in overall equity values in the range of 50%+ from 2007 to early 2009. The event created a lasting and widespread change in mindsets around personal finance, even what it means to be securely middle class. However, for those that stayed the course, the subsequent Great Bull Market produced exorbitant wealth for almost anyone investing in almost anything.If there's a lesson to be learned here, it's that market growth and declines are cyclical. These cycles are influenced by a complex blend of fiscal policy, business practices, and perhaps most important of all—animal spirits: human behavior and emotion. To balance risk and reward, one should invest broadly in the market as a whole and increase the investing timeline. The latter in particular is easier said than done. In this post today, we quantify the power of longevity in the market. We have reason to rejoice, so long as we can hang on! Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeGet the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

Today on episode 61 I'm pleased to welcome Heather Larsen, pro slackliner and climber and lover of southern Utah's desert heat. What is probably less known about Heather is that, following humble beginnings, she graduated at the height of the Great Recession with a double major in finance and economics.In the intervening years, she struggled greatly to find work in her field, even competing for bank teller jobs with 20-year finance veterans. Out west she found work in seasonal park service positions, growing more and more fond of the outdoors, eventually discovering climbing and slacklining.Heather could have easily fallen into a mindset of defeat. But with persistence, she was eventually able to secure a career in financial reporting, enabling her preferred lifestyle balance of elite outdoor adventure and self-made financial security. Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeGet the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

Today on episode 60 I'm pleased to welcome back Chris Mamula, who you may recall from episode 3. Chris is a writer, author, and partner at CanIRetireYet.com, who achieved financial independence at age 41 to pursue a life centered around family and the outdoors.Beginning in early 2022, in search of a new challenge, Chris completed the education and exam necessary to become a Certified Financial Planner (CFP). Two questions emerge from this development:Why would someone who theoretically doesn't need to work begin a new career?How can someone who harbors admittedly dogmatic views against the financial advice industry find a comfortable home working in this field?Today we discuss the different kinds of financial advisors, the nature of complex incentives in professional financial advice, Chris's recommended approach to choosing a financial advisor, and so much more about behavior, psychology, and the tangled emotions of money management. Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeGet the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

Today on episode 59 I'm pleased to host Brent Barghahn, a 29-year-old elite climber who used real estate investment as a way to effectively “retire” from his career as an engineer in the outdoor industry in his late twenties.Brent and I discussed a fascinating reality on the idea of dream jobs, the growing trend of short-duration careers (and what that means for society), and of course many details on Brent's path to financial strength and community building through his preferred method of real estate investment. Of course, though, I wanted to discuss the stark differences in today's high interest rate and sky-high price environment, which has changed markedly in the last year. It begs the question: can someone still be successful as a real estate investor today? I have my concerns, so we aired out some of them in today's episode.Finally, we take an interesting look at the realities of full-time climbing and why Brent has found he needs more. Also, Brent and I admittedly harbor negative sentiments on the world of social media, especially in climbing. What narratives and stories are being missed by the modern form of shallow media consumption? Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeGet the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

We're back to the digital mailbag to answer your questions!For this week:Are new investors part of an “unlucky cohort” that won't achieve financial independence in the often-cited timelines?Is it worth it to hire a tax professional? And if so, how should I find one?Can you help me understand all these confusing public sector retirement accounts?Should I do a Roth conversion now or just make a contribution to a Roth IRA?Thoughts on the recent bank runs and instability in financial marketsSo much more! Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeSubscribe to the website: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com Q1: Are new investors part of an “unlucky cohort” that won't achieve FI in the often-cited timelines? (00:05:52) Q2: Is it worth it to hire a tax professional? And if so, how should I find one? (00:16:40) Q3: Can you help me understand all these confusing public sector retirement accounts? (00:21:48) Q4: Should I do a Roth conversion now or just make a contribution to a Roth IRA? (00:25:36) Q5: Thoughts on the recent bank runs and instability in financial markets. (00:31:40)

Today on episode 57 I'm pleased to welcome Dawn Baker, a board-certified anesthesiologist, wife, mother, climber, coach, and now the author of a new book about the perils of, as she puts it, an intense need to achieve. And Dawn has walked the walk. After years of hard-driving pursuit of linear improvement in both career and climbing, she suffered crushing fatigue and malaise, and ultimately faced a major health crisis during her residency. If that wasn't enough, she was then plagued with infertility problems. The result was expensive and demoralizing rounds of in-vitro fertilization, an approach that ultimately proved successful and led to the birth of her daughter.The need for achievement and success is so pervasive in our culture. And this interview is not just for downtown or medical center careerists. This is as much a discussion of climbing and our hobbies, which can so often derail into something quite different from our original healthy and recreational pursuits.Today, Dawn's life with her husband and daughter is so different. Through evaluation of her core values, married with a strong financial position, she now works “very part time,” and has moved with her family to a homestead in the high plateaus of southern Utah. But in choosing to step away, or lean out, as Dawn says, we risk our position and standing in the social hierarchy. This is much a discussion of status as it is of lifestyle. Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeGet the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

One evening, circa 2011, I sat over dinner with my future wife in our small and sweaty Houston, TX rented bungalow. I was and still am an occasional cheap bastard, so the air conditioning was almost certainly set to engage on an “as-needed” basis, far from anything resembling comfort. The concept of financial independence wasn't on the radar.During downtime at work—I told you I was distracted—I was scouring numerous free WordPress blogs documenting the travels of zealous climbing dirtbags. They were camping and climbing and making whatever money they needed along the way. People were even starting to live and travel in vans, something I associated with sixties and seventies surfer culture. I wanted that life.At this point in my late twenties, I was maybe barely a year into my career as a geologist in the oil and gas industry. But I could see the writing on the wall—this would not and could not be my career for the next 35-40 years. In fact, at that moment, I couldn't see myself lasting my target three to five years until I expected to return to school for a career in academia. And there was a new problem: I'd kind of grown obsessed with this new hobby of rock climbing.Twelve years later, I finally found a very different path to a life of freedom, if such a thing even exists. After three years of financial independence, what follows are some key lessons I've learned along the way. Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeGet the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

Today on episode 55 I'm honored to welcome Darrow Kirkpatrick, former engineer, climber, investor, author, and the creator of the popular blog CanIRetireYet.com. Darrow began serious saving and investing in his mid-30s and retired at age 50 in 2011 from a career in software engineering.In this wide-ranging interview, we explore why Darrow stepped away from personal finance writing after creating a popular blog, his adventures on the Colorado Trail and the inspiration for a memoir, and the journey and struggle to finding meaning and purpose at any stage in life. Darrow Kirkpatrick: An IntroductionDarrow was eager to share the methods and values of frugality and simple personal finance in the early days of his retirement, leading to the creation of his blog. Over time, though, his interest in the subject slowly waned, replaced by the need for more adventure. He partnered with Chris Mamula, eventually releasing the reigns of the blog to Chris.In the intervening years, Darrow has spent considerable time in contemplation of purpose and meaning in retirement, an often under-discussed and potentially difficult reality. This spiritual journey ultimately led him to pursue a boyhood dream of hiking the Colorado Trail. To achieve this lofty goal, he faced mental and physical hurdles, including walking the length of the trail with forearm crutches. Darrow has been busy writing a memoir of that experience, titled Rain and Fire in the Sky: Beyond Doubt on the Colorado Trail. Additionally, he has created a new website dedicated to cataloguing and reviewing other trail memoirs, at trailmemoir.com, where you can keep up with the latest on his upcoming book.This interview offers a unique perspective on the softer side of financial optimization. We can be masters of technical methods of saving and investing, but ultimately none of that matters without clear direction, purpose, and meaning in our lives. As a retiree of twelve years and counting, Darrow has plenty of lessons for us all. Topics Discussed with Darrow Kirkpatrick:Darrow's climbing life: early free climbing and first ascentsDarrow's career: becoming a software engineer and working remotely, long before either of these career options were commonplaceFinding a path to financial independence in a time before widespread bloggingDarrow's key philosophy and methods to achieving financial independenceWhy Darrow sold CanIRetireYet.com to Chris MamulaFinding meaning and purpose in retirement and deciding to hike the Colorado TrailDarrow's physical and mental hurdles in life and on the trail, and specific methods to address these struggles.How Darrow leveraged financial strength to take a mid-career break for struggles with anxietyReflections on trail life, solitude in the wilderness, and writing a memoir of that experienceBalancing life on the road and a home lifeSocial connections for retirees and for those relocating to new townsMessaging early retirement in social situationsSo much more! Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeGet the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com Get in Touch with Darrow KirkpatrickCanIRetireYet.comTrailmemoir.com Related Posts and InterviewsEP 17: Michael Langer: Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (Clipping Chains)EP 18: Kenzie King: Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (Clipping Chains)Fear and Limping (Alone) in Las Vegas (Clipping Chains)Eudaimonia: Key Pillars of the Meaningful Life (Clipping Chains)EP 53: Lee Cujes: No Free Lunch on the Life We Really Want (Clipping Chains)Peruse all Clipping Chains posts and interviews here.Darrow's 2023 Investment Portfolio (CanIRetireYet)Finding Your Purpose in a Long Retirement (CanIRetireYet)Over the Hill (Darrowkirkpatrick.com) Other Resources MentionedCritique Circle (online writing critique)SideStix Forearm Crutches BooksA Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail (Bill Bryson)Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail (Cheryl Strayed)The Wanting Was a Wilderness: Cheryl Strayed's WILD and the Art of Memoir (Alden Jones)How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World: a Handbook for Personal Liberty (Harry Browne)Fail-Safe Investing: Lifelong Financial Security in 30 Minutes (Harry Browne)The Making of the Atomic Bomb (Richard Rhodes)Thousand-Mile Summer (Colin Fletcher)John McPhee Books

We live in a distracted world where depth of investigation is discouraged. Despite increases in scientific spending, the number of publications, or the amount of PhDs being rewarded, major discoveries in science and engineering have declined significantly in recent decades. The new-music market is shrinking, and old hits are dominating. We are working more days and longer hours, but US productivity growth is way down. A society that produces meaningful output is a healthy society, but meaningful output is arguably on the decline in many fields.I argue that distraction and “noise” are key inhibitors to a healthy and progressing society. In the nearly three years since I quit my job, I've been forced to examine my strong tendency toward distraction. What follows is a discussion of methods that I've found incredibly useful in retraining my brain for deep and focused work and why that matters so much today. Our peak potential resides in no more than four hours per day. Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeGet the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Written Article and Links at Clippingchains.com

Today on episode 53 I'm pleased to welcome back Lee Cujes, this time as a podcast guest. Some of you may recall the written interview with Lee back in late 2020. Lee is an elite Australian climber and route developer, with multiple 5.13+ and 5.14 first ascents to his name. But most importantly as it relates to this platform, Lee has managed to climb and develop routes continuously while carving a unique career niche and embracing a long-term investing strategy, an approach that provides the ultimate work and life balance. Lee Cujes: An IntroductionLee insists that he climbed his best at the peak of his career. To enable a better work and life balance, Lee and his wife Sam reconfigured their life to move away from the hustle and bustle of a major metro area.  They resettled in a small mountain community and climbing mecca in the Blue Mountains.Furthermore, Lee has been investing since 1998. As such, he has the experience of investing through the back-to-back severe recessions of the dot-com bubble burst and the 2008 financial crisis, a prolonged, decade+ period where stocks fell over 60% in value. Lee was able to stay the course through year after year of poor equity performance, putting him on a path to financial independence today. Many of you investing through your first bear market, which began in early 2022, will find the beginning of our conversation today useful and inspiring.This interview is a wide-ranging and fun exploration of career, investing, climbing, long-term travel, relationships, wealth accumulation and preservation, and the realization that early retirement is still a fundamentally weird concept to most of society. Topics Discussed with Lee CujesWeathering two back-to-back severe recessions as a new investorLee's discovery of financial independence and the framework it providedImproving life now instead of rushing to financial independencePlenty of career advice: finding the right job, loyalty and longevity versus job-hopping, college as prep for the job market, and what really makes work meaningful, and why Lee climbed his best at the peak of his careerWhy having more time to climb won't make us better climbersWhat Lee's life would look like with financial independenceThoughts on a mid-career year of international travel and climbingSaving strategies and investing options for Australians and Americans alikePlanning your “FIRE number” and deliberation on proper withdrawal rates in a high-inflation and low-return environmentDiscussing early retirement to a dubious public. Lack of synchronization with society.Lee's advice on improving your financial lifeSo much more! Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeGet the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com Get in Touch with Lee CujesLee's 2020 Clipping Chains InterviewLee Cujes on Instagram Other Interviews and Posts MentionedEudaimonia: Key Pillars of the Meaningful LifeShocking Headlines of the 2008 Financial Crisis (And Why They Are So Important Now)The Long Approach to Being Scared of InvestingCan The 4% Rule Actually Work For Early Retirement?Joy and Tyler Black on Career, Money Mindsets, and ParentingThe Bold and Beautiful Roth Conversion LadderBack in the Weeds with the Frugal ProfessorPeruse all Clipping Chains posts and interviews here.  Other ResourcesSeinfeld: The Marine BiologistA recommended FIRE Calculator (***simplified, review key assumptions!***)Australian Superannuation Books Recommended by Lee CujesThe 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich (Tim Ferriss)The Magician Series (Raymond E. Feist)Leonidio & Kyparissi Guidebook – 2021 Revised 

Today I'm going to take a deeper look at a topic I know is near and dear to so many of you: the housing market. And we're going to take a particular look at home ownership. Without a doubt, the housing market has been a wild and arguably unpredictable roller coaster ride since the pandemic began. At the core, the issue is fundamental: a mismatch of supply and demand. In large part, the seed for this supply and demand mis-match was planted approximately twenty years ago, during the run-up to the Great Recession of the mid to late 2000s. Of course, it should be noted that the beginning of a historical narrative is always arbitrary. The mechanisms of the US housing market extend well beyond the early 2000s.  Today we take a journey back to the run-up to the housing crisis of the mid 2000s, the supply-constrained market of the 2010s, and how the pandemic poured gasoline on what was already becoming a smoldering fire. Finally, we investigate the great power of federal monetary intervention to fuel or snub out demand. Is now a good time to buy? I hope you'll join me in this discussion. Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeGet the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

Joy and Tyler shared a common early interest: debt. With a focus on paying down this debt, Joy was able to leave an unfulfilling desk job and begin her work as a coach, relying on Tyler's steady income as a biologist to cover their life's expenses. As Joy's business grew, they were able to shift focus from debt paydown to pursuing financial independence.But along the way, Joy has managed the inevitable bumps in the road of solo entrepreneurship, including crushing hours, demanding tasks outside of her primary skillset, the psychologically draining world of social media, and the emotional toll of coaching women in a particularly important phase in their lives. Looking back though, she wouldn't trade the experience and personal growth that this path has provided.This is a really fun yet insightful story of two people with very different world views who really make it work. This is a discussion of money, personality, parenting, and the life-long pursuit of meaning, recreation, and career. Topics Discussed with Joy and Tyler BlackJoy's career journey: leaving an unfulfilling job and becoming a coach for pregnant and postpartum rock climbersThe power of niching down in businessManaging debt and beginning a life in pursuit of financial independenceAn in-depth discussion on partner support: financial, child-raising, etc.Musings on early retirementGender roles and mindsets on career and moneyThe gamification of the FIRE movement: Who can save the most or retire the earliest?Should we feel guilty for building wealth?Personality and money mindset: logic and reason versus feeling and emotionThe behind-the-scenes reality of the solo entrepreneurial lifePursuing financial independence with three childrenThe mental toll of social media for an entrepreneurThe psychology of market volatilityThe often-unspoken support systems behind the “quit your job” or “chase your dream” internet advice.Knowing your self-worth in a career and the downsides of the job-hopping cultureSo much more! Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeGet the newsletter: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com Get in Touch with Joy and Tyler BlackCallie Joy Black on InstagramCallie Joy Black on TikTokCallie Joy Black on YouTubeJoy's Email List SubscriptionTyler Black on Instagram Other Interviews and Posts MentionedPaige Claassen: “This Was a Big One For Me” (Clipping Chains)Steve Bechtel: The Glass is Already Broken (Clipping Chains)Mettle, By Steve Bechtel: A Book Review (Clipping Chains)EP 128: Callie Joy Black (The Nugget Climbing Podcast)Peruse all Clipping Chains posts and interviews here. Books Recommended by Joy and Tyler Black Tyler's Recommendations:Man's Search for Meaning (Viktor E. Frankl)The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable (Nassim Nicholas Taleb)The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns (John C. Bogle) Joy's Recommendations:Mettle: Lessons From the Gym and the Crag in Pursuit of Better Climbing (Steve Bechtel)Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art (James Nestor)Come As You Are: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life (Emily Nagoski)Why Did No One Tell Me?: What Every Woman Needs to Know to Protect, Heal and Nurture Her Body Through Motherhood (Emma Brockwell)

Thinkers and philosophers of ancient times sorted out much in the way of living a meaningful and purposeful life. But after thousands of years of progress, material growth, and convenience, we largely fail to find meaning in our modern lives. Today we examine the philosophy of eudaimonia and how we can truly develop our sense of meaning and purpose.

We're back to the digital mailbag to answer your questions!For this week:Hot Seat Questions: My favorite blogs, podcasts, articles, and books. Musings on my biggest financial mistakes and the advice I'd give my younger self.How do my wife and I keep meaning and purpose in our lives without traditional careers?To sell or not to sell a home that was purchased in 2021How to sell investments and minimize taxesThe proper hierarchy of investment accountsRoth vs Traditional 401(k): Which is better?I-Bonds: Should we be buying more?Saving strategies for a home down paymentReceiving inheritance in a foreign currencyCritical nuance on withdrawal strategies in a high inflation/poor market return environmentSo much more! Support this project: Buy Me a CoffeeSubscribe to the website: SUBSCRIBE ME!Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com Q1: Hot Seat Questions: My favorite blogs, podcasts, articles, and books. Musings on my biggest financial mistakes and the advice I'd give my younger self. (00:02:59) Q2: Should I sell a home I just bought in 2021? (00:09:58) Q3: How do I withdraw money from an index fund and pay as little in possible on taxes? (00:16:43) Q4: What are the pros and cons of Roth 401(k) vs Traditional 401(k)?(00:21:15) Q5: Am I going to buy more I-Bonds next year and are they appropriate for an emergency fund? (00:24:37) Q6: Nearly 3 years into financial independence… What now gives you purpose, and has that changed since the first year of financial independence? Same question for your wife! (00:28:29) Q7: An investment account hierarchy case study (00:33:15) Q8: “I'm receiving inheritance in Euros but I live in Canada. What should I do?” (00:38:18) Q9: What is the best option for a high-interest savings account when saving for a home down-payment? (00:41:37) Q10: What about Fidelity's In-Plan Roth Conversion? (00:47:50) Q11: Thoughts on market downturns, inflation, retirement income streams (pension, etc.), and how we can adjust our withdrawal strategies to preserve wealth at all retirement durations (00:53:14)