Meet the Clipping Chains Family

My name is Chad Andrews and I’m a freelance writer, podcaster, scientist, and climber. I’m interested in how to live a better, more thoughtful life. My writing and interviews are rooted in the study of behavior, decision-making, philosophy, economics, and personal finance. This project began as a personal blog in 2018, grew to include a podcast in 2021, and continues to constantly evolve.

Before discovering the joy of writing, I spent over ten years as a geologist in the energy industry. It took that long to realize that (a) I was a poor fit for the role, and; (b) I could save and invest wisely to more appropriately align work with my values and interests. Before this, I embraced academia, writing and publishing peer-reviewed journal articles and dreaming of being a professor. The 2008 financial crisis changed the plan, driving me to the incandescent shelter of corporate America, where I learned to balance academic ideals with the applied reality of the private sector. I have eight years of experience in professional kitchens, working from fast food to fine dining, and everything in between. When not writing, interviewing, or talking to myself with a microphone, you’ll find me climbing or exploring the American West with my wife and elderly dog. We are natives of the South living in Colorado.

I write or produce a podcast most weeks, but don’t hold me to it. If you’d like to keep up with all the latest, I’ll even throw in a FREE spending and net worth tracking spreadsheet. It’s a fan favorite, they say.

Also, I love hearing from listeners and readers. I answer all (reasonable) emails and most comments. Please check out my contact page if you have any specific questions, comments, or other interesting ramblings. I’m here for it.

Thank you for reading!

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Posts By Subject ( for popular):**

Life/Psychology/Behavior

Holier Than Thou: Why It’s Hard to Talk About Money

Dogs and Your Money: An Ode to Man’s Best Friend

Know Thyself: A Guide to Individuality

**Digital Minimalism: Give Me Back My Brain

Fear: Here’s How It’s Holding You Back

Walking the Walk and Other Tales by Foot

From Love: Why I Care About Your Money

**Charles Sheldon: FIRE Before It Was Cool

Wow! You Are So Lucky to Retire Early!

**BREAKING: I (Sort Of) Quit My Job

The Sky Is Falling: Lessons From the Coronavirus

**The Fallacy of Happiness and Meaningful Work

Do Tough Times Make Tough People?

Welcome to Your Emotions, Your Guide Today

Hi, How Are You? I’m Privileged.

**Contentment: The Greenest Grass of Them All

A Letter To You, Nana

**Fear and Limping (Alone) in Las Vegas

**Emotional Fragility: Is This the New Normal?

Lately: Is Hope Really in the Air?

The Shocking Truth About Sleep

**Six Important Reasons Not to Retire Early

The New Research on Income and Happiness

The Happiness Curve: Beware of Expectations

**The Anticipation Of The Thing Is Greater Than The Thing

**Eudaimonia: Key Pillars of the Meaningful Life

**The Blue Dot Effect: Pessimism in a Beautiful World

**The Problem with Bucket Lists and How to Be Happy with Less

Uncertainty Is Forever (And That’s Good News)

All Work and No Play Makes You…Normal

What Two Writers Taught Me About How to Think

**The Illusion of Skill and How to Make Better Predictions

Financial

Saving/Frugality/Tracking

**Five “Essentials” That Are Destroying Your Savings

**But I Don’t Want to Be Frugal

**Tracking Your Spending: The Ultimate Task

**Net Worth: It’s Really Going to Matter…Someday

Do You Deserve a Life You Can’t Afford?

But There’s No Time to Save Money!

When Being a One-Car Household Really Sucks

**How to Get a Fantastic Deal on a New Car

How to Destroy Your Finances in Your 20s and 30s

Help! My Significant Other is Terrible With Money!

**Your 2021 Guide to Actually Saving Real Money

Automation: The Dirty Little Secret to Spending Less

**Value Spending: How to Really Save Money

2021 Exciting Year-End Financial and Tax Checklist

**I Bonds: A Novel Way to Save Cash

A Quick Note for Those Struggling with Spending

Student Loan Forgiveness: Here’s What You Need to Know

**What Happened to Frugality?

2024 Tax Brackets That Don’t Suck (and 2023 too)

The Psychology Behind Poor Investments and Other Important Decisions

**Yonder Goes Little Maggie

Investing

**The CC Family Investing Strategy, Part 1: Philosophy and Asset Allocation

**The CC Family Investing Strategy, Part 2: Where Exactly Is Our Money?

We Lost Thousands of Dollars in the Stock Market, and That’s Okay

**You Know a Recession is Coming, Right?

Financial Advisor: Who Needs One?

I Have Cash! Is Now a Bad Time to Invest?!

**Shocking Headlines of the 2008 Financial Crisis (And Why They Are So Important Now)

Market Timing: Why It (Still) Doesn’t Work

Bitcoin and Other Things You Shouldn’t Own

The Simple Systems to Kicking Monetary Ass

**There’s No Way I’m Investing in this Economy!

**The Wondrous and Fantastic Power of Compound Growth (And Why It Doesn’t Pay to Wait)

The GameStop Saga: Hedge Funds, Reddit Investors, and Why They’re All Wrong

Expense Ratio & Fees: They’ll Hose You Big Time

The Long Approach to Being Scared of Investing (Also could be in “living off investments” section)

Mid-Year Financial Check & All the Latest

Sustainable Investing: Five Important Considerations

Wealth Inequality: Can We Solve This?

**War and Financial Markets: What You Need to Know

**This is the Wild Ride We Signed Up For

**The Great Comfort of Longevity in the Stock Market

But it’s not all about us! The Interview Series

We’re very happy to feature climbers who are living in a financially responsible way, building a business, or inspiring us in some other way beyond the headlines. You’ll find these posts in The Interview Series.