Funding the Adventurous Life
This week I decided to dig through the digital mail bag for some questions.
In this podcast episode, we take a dive on how to spend retirement money early, how to live off investment income, recommended index funds, life on the road, climbing with a significant other who doesn’t partake, taxes, spot-on recession predictions, and so much more!
Continue reading “EP 9: Your Questions Answered: Volume 3”
I want to welcome back to Clipping Chains Becky Switzer, a Bozeman, Montana-based climber who delivered a great written interview about a year ago. When I first met Becky in summer of 2020, I was living out of a tiny A-frame camper with my wife and dog. We were passing through Bozeman, and I remembered someone I sort of knew from Instagram who might help me with some local beta: Becky Switzer. I asked if she’d be willing to meet for coffee, and much to my surprise, she was. This was the first pre-interview discussion where I wished I was recording. It was during this conversation that I resolved to eventually start a podcast, and over a year later, here we are.
Continue reading “EP 8: Becky Switzer: This is Real Life”
I’m sitting watching the Harvest Moon burst from the northeastern horizon. Fat and pale in all its full moon glory, this night and this moon signifies the end of summer.
I’m alone at the mouth of Maple Canyon in Utah, rising above the parched farmland below. I’ve backed my camper between two large pinyon pines, nestled on red dirt pockmarked with the signs of recent rain. The searing sun, amplifying the intensity of otherwise moderate temperatures, has given way to a cool and peaceful night. While I miss my little family tonight, I feel so at ease here.
My friend will be joining me tomorrow for a week of cobble pulling in prime conditions, but tonight I’m alone. And in lonesome campsites, it’s easy to find yourself reflective of the recent and distant past. So, in the following paragraphs, I reflect on the months that have passed while bringing us up to date on the dramatic recent events of a summer of travel and exploration.
Continue reading “Summer 2021: The Life and Times”
Today I’m happy to welcome climber, author, and founder of the Climbing Zine, Luke Mehall. Luke is the kind of climber I thought I would never reach with a platform focused on saving, investing, and financial wellness. Luke existed for many years as a self-proclaimed hand-to-mouth dirtbag. He lived on the road for months at a time, barely making ends meet. But as Luke puts it, “the dirtbag dream is not enough.”
At a low point in his life, Luke started publishing stories about the climbing life that didn’t have a home in the major publications. The Climbing Zine was born, which has now grown into a thriving business and paved a path for Luke’s personal and creative freedom. Now he’s turning his focus to expanding the business and facing all the real-life adult stuff so many of us will find familiar: buying a home, saving for the future, and generally evolving with the roller coaster ride that is the modern world.
Continue reading “EP 7: Luke Mehall: The Dirtbag Dream is Not Enough”
Today I’m excited to bring you an interview with writer and outdoor enthusiast Chris Mamula. Chris is a well-known figure in the personal finance community, particularly the Financial Independence community.
Chris worked as a physical therapist before achieving financial independence and leaving his career in 2017 at age 41. Shortly thereafter, Chris—along with his wife and daughter—moved across the country from Pennsylvania to Ogden, UT, where they now reside.
While Chris and his family yearned for an adventurous life out west, he’s been candid about the challenges of changing too much too soon. We discuss those challenges and how he’s worked through them. We also discuss financial and lifestyle choices that are unique to the outdoor community. Finally, we address the importance of options and flexibility for an unknown future.
Plus much more!
Continue reading “EP 3: Chris Mamula: One Bite at a Time”
Today I’m very happy to bring you a live, in-the-flesh interview with Mike Tritt, a Denver-based climber who achieved financial independence and retired from his mechanical engineering job at age 35.
Mike now climbs full-time and supports his fiancée Suzanna in her career, which she has chosen to continue pursuing. In this interview we discuss how Mike juggled climbing with a career and then walked away from mandatory work in his 30s. We address how Mike is striking a balance between a home-based relationship and the desire for long trips on the road. Finally, we take on the subject of purpose in life without traditional work. Plus, so much more!
Continue reading “EP 1 🎙: Mike Tritt: Rocking in the Free World”
I’ve finally caved. I’m happy to announce that I’ve been busy building a podcast as an extension of this website.
Welcome to the new and (hopefully) improved Clipping Chains platform. Will you join me?
Continue reading “Announcing the Clipping Chains Podcast”
“Should I Quit My Job for Climbing?”
I get some form of this question from time to time.
“Hi Mr. CC. I really don’t like my job and I think I’ve saved enough for a road trip. What do you think about leaving this job and traveling for a year or more? Will an extended road trip hurt my finances?”
Well…let’s take a look.
Continue reading “Should I Quit My Job? I Want to Climb!”
Helloooo friends, and welcome to Clipping Chains. This is your host Mr. CC. Wait…does that sound familiar? If so, you—like me—might find yourself listening to a lot of climbing’s refreshing new podcast: The Nugget Climbing Podcast, by Steven Dimmitt.
Today, we’re flipping the mic, so to speak. Steven shares with us how he decided to leave his traditional job as an engineer, move into a van, and start a podcast about life and climbing. He is cultivating a livable income from a product often given away for free. Most importantly, we discuss how Steven is honing a craft that simply cannot be ignored.
It begs the questions: What does it take to make this a repeatable path?
Continue reading “Steven Dimmitt: Taking the Big Leap”
Life has been good lately, which I correlate with the general sense of hope in the air. I thought this week would be a good opportunity to just check in and talk about life, and uncomfortably for me, my own climbing. After all, aren’t we pursuing financial wellness as part of a broader plan for a life well lived? What is that, anyway? And have we struck the balance lately?
Let’s see.
Continue reading “Lately: Is Hope Really in the Air?”