Your Feedback Is Very Wonderful and I Am Weak

Well, damnit. Try as I might to take some time away, I’m still a sucker for this stuff. Last week I asked for your feedback. I’ve been getting to the point where I felt I was hitting a lot of the same talking points week after week. And you guys delivered.

Here’s what you had to say.

Feedback Doesn’t Come Easy

You see, running a website and putting your thoughts and true sentiments on the internet for the world to see each week is a daunting affair. Mostly, I hear from only a tiny fraction of readers who show up here. As such, I’m left to wonder like Fievel and Tanya Mousekewitz on what you guys really like. Somewhere out there.

I truly thank you all for your kind words of encouragement and suggestions for enhancing this little, strange corner of the internet.

Your Feedback Summarized

In no particular order, I’m going to relay some of the bigger points I’ve come away with in reading over your emails and messages.

Life after FI is a big deal.

Again, much to my surprise, there appears to be a high degree of interest in our guinea pig lives after quitting our jobs and achieving financial independence. There are far more of you that can relate to life on the road (or the desire to experience it) than perhaps withdrawal strategies. But we’ll do both.

Many of you noted, and I agree, that writers who achieve financial independence often dwindle in their writing frequency, or stop altogether. While I thought I would be different, I now understand that the feverish anticipation of the thing is a great motivator for creativity, while the thing is just the thing, separated by occasional and reluctant trips to Walmart.

I’ve struggled because I thought a lot of you guys really wanted more financial hacks. They are here. But maybe what folks want to see the most is the life, because that’s the point after all, right? A life well-lived.

Well, that’s fantastic. Because I’d rather write about weeding through the reeds and nettles of a real world, and not write lame-ass listicles like, “SIX WAYS TO QUIT YOUR JOB FOREVER!,” with a stock photo of a girl blowing on a dandelion in the golden hour. Barf.

(Related Post: Contentment: The Greenest Grass of Them All)

Podcasts maybe aren’t the thing.

I actually had far more responses in favor of written word interviews over podcasts, much to my surprise. And for those who do like podcasts, almost everyone suggested having them transcribed for later reading. This gives me a lot to think about.

For the last half dozen or so interviews, I’ve been calling the interviewees for a little pre-chat over the phone. Those conversations are always so good that I wish they were recorded.

However, there’s so much value in what people can convey when given the time to consider their points. Podcasts capture all the rambling and important tangents, but perhaps aren’t always as effective at driving home the big points with intentional language.

Is the pen mightier than the mic?

I want a little more insight. Would you mind taking this three question survey? It will take probably 20 seconds of your day.

Take the three-question podcast survey.

Home Ownership

There’s a lot of interest out there for first-time home buyers. Interest rates are at historic lows, and the incentive to own a home is, in many ways, at all-time highs.

BUT…shit ain’t cheap, my man.

And I know you are feeling that pressure. Buy now before it gets more expensive, or wait on some sort of pandemic-related crash? Let’s discuss this more very soon. However, here’s a dose of reality to hold you over, in case you missed it.

This Just In: The Real Costs of Home Ownership

It’s still hard to save money.

Surprisingly, I’ve only heard from one person without work due to the pandemic economic squeeze. As I’ve suspected, and the data seems to confirm, a small fraction of the population is really getting hit hard by this. Unfortunately and perhaps not surprisingly, those hardest hit are on the bottom rung of the economic ladder.

However, life is largely going on as normal (income-wise) for the majority of us…for now. That said, there are a contingent of my climbing brethren who still suffer from some of the same problems of society writ large: impulsive, misguided, or downright unnecessary and frivolous spending. Income doesn’t appear to be the problem, but perhaps habits and personality are the culprits. We shall continue down this path.

Investing is still scary.

I’ve received a few requests to discuss investing strategies for those who are freelancers or who otherwise don’t have consistent income. That’s a great thought. The psychological burden to invest savings is much harder when income is sporadic. We are much more likely to overanalyze “now,” falling prey to potentially disastrous market timing tendencies⏤or perhaps even worse⏤not investing at all.

Also, as I strongly suspected, there’s still a contingent of you experiencing some trepidation about getting into the market in a world where so much feels uncertain. Let’s do more of this, but here are some classics:

You Know a Recession is Coming, Right?

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

There’s No Way I’m Investing in This Economy!

Saving now versus saving later.

I love this concept. I, like perhaps many of you, once felt that saving for my retirement was something to do later, like wearing more polo shirts or buying a lawn edger.

Obviously, I’ve changed my tune. I want to discuss this more, along with the idea of compound growth in general. But to hold you over, here’s a snarky little diddy I did on the subject last year.

Retirement? Don’t Worry, I’ll Be Fine!

By the way, I still haven’t moved on those polo shirts or that lawn edger. Although, funny story, when I interviewed for my first job in Denver, rattled with tension of the importance of the opportunity to get me the hell out of Texas, I forgot to pack a t-shirt for my overnight trip from Houston. Intent on getting in a run to ease my nerves, I ran in the previous day’s polo shirt, sweating profusely through what felt like a burlap potato sack.

Good for him, damnit. So brave, they probably thought.

Is life on the road overly glorified?

Many of you asked for more content about the struggles of life on the road. Everyone wants to know about pooping. What else is new, you bunch of toddlers? Sit tight on your trainer toilets, for I will, at some point, deliver a riveting review. Maybe.

It seems a contingent of you have experienced this life and found it to be harder than advertised. I agree. Much more of this to come.

Here’s some of my recent posts reflecting the reality of life on the road.

Week 1: Lander, Wyoming: Working Out the Kinks

One Month on the Road: Getting a Groove

In Contrast: The Reality of Life on the Road

Three Months on the Road: Pacific Northwest

How do I get a partner on board?

This is a very interesting subject. How do you save and plan for your future when your partner wants to ball out and YOLO, making it rain across town all weekend? We have some suggestions here. I had to rein in Mrs. CC’s lavish extravagance once too. I’m kidding of course, but she took a little convincing to go all in on investing.

The Election

I want to briefly talk about the election.

Well folks…that was a stressful week.

I’ll be real with you: my guy won. And I thought the last guy performed about as you’d expect for a reality television spectacle with truly biblical narcissistic qualities. We can, in good faith, discuss our different social, fiscal, or political leanings, but that guy wasn’t helping anyone’s causes in a sustainable way.

While there is time for a few Irish jumping heel clicks, let’s pause and remember that a good chunk of the electorate, in excess of 70 million voters, isn’t so happy. This country is pumping out on a knife-edge arete with polished feet. And the last bolt is a spinner. (Sorry non-climbers, but hopefully you can wade through that analogy).

Now is not the time to throw egg in anyone’s face. We need to be extending olive trees, not branches.

Find someone different than you today, someone you might otherwise judge. Smile, say hello. Do that to everyone. Be mindful of first impressions. Be kind, be courteous, be patient, and be the bigger person.

This too shall pass. Then we can get back to despising our neighbors for far more traditional reasons, like the unchecked number of dandelions in June.

Savages.

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