Financial Independence Archives - CLIPPING CHAINS

Time Marches On

Mr. Clipping Chains — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 06:00:00 +0000

After seven years, and with a heavy heart, I’m here to say that life’s path is leading elsewhere. And I feel it’s best to follow that intuition. I can’t say for sure, but this will probably be my last post. Listen to the Podcast I’ll begin with a secret: I never cared much about the …

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Is This Time Different?

Mr. Clipping Chains — Fri, 11 Apr 2025 17:41:13 +0000

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: …

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“I Quit” Is the Wrong Legacy (And Here’s a Better Future)

Mr. Clipping Chains — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Recently, I sent a mini-post to my newsletter subscribers about reclaiming financial independence as a tool for deeper engagement—using it to connect, create, and contribute instead of opting out. Today, I’m reflecting on your feedback. Listen to the Podcast I want to thank everyone who reached out last week to my newsletter mini-post. I like …

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A Midlife Crisis Without the Sports Car

Mr. Clipping Chains — Mon, 23 Dec 2024 07:00:00 +0000

We chase financial independence and early retirement, believing these achievements will provide a better life. But what if the pursuit of such goals is actually trapping us? Listen to the Podcast 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 …

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David Champion: The Psychological Challenge Of Early Retirement

Mr. Clipping Chains — Mon, 19 Aug 2024 06:00:00 +0000

David Champion retired early at 53. In his own words, the first five years were “magnificent,” with endless opportunities for climbing and adventure. However, he knows the next five won’t come so easily. Introduction Retirement is often an ideal detached from reality. When overwhelmed by daily routines, it’s easy to imagine retirement as a stress-free …

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Life Without Money Scarcity Might Just Make You Lazy

Mr. Clipping Chains — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Escaping the grind is wonderful and often needed. But life is long and money scarcity motivates us to do hard things that make life rewarding. Listen to the Podcast Recently, I’ve been increasingly conflicted by several dueling experiences and sensations: What the Wrong Job Looks Like When I worked in the SCOE, I rose around …

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Is My Rent Too High?

Mr. Clipping Chains — Mon, 22 Apr 2024 06:00:00 +0000

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 …

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Four Years of Financial Independence: The Slow Growth

Mr. Clipping Chains — Wed, 28 Feb 2024 07:00:00 +0000

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 …

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The Psychology Behind Poor Investments and Other Important Decisions

Mr. Clipping Chains — Mon, 12 Feb 2024 15:00:00 +0000

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. Listen …

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

Mr. Clipping Chains — Tue, 06 Feb 2024 18:05:54 +0000

I thought these visual-friendly brackets would help in your 2024 planning and 2023 taxes. Bookmark and enjoy! Remember, the best-laid plans mean nothing if you can’t take action today. Have questions? Need some feedback? Hit us up on the contact page. If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe here for much, much more. And please, …

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