Category: Financial Independence

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Neil Phillips: Money as a Means to an Incredible Journey

Neil Phillips PROMO

This week I am very pleased to bring you an exciting interview with a climber and young professional that you don’t know: Neil Phillips.

As a matter of fact, I’m 100% positive that you don’t know Neil Phillips, because that’s not his real name. And I get that too, because I also don’t use my name. Money and jobs and the internet are like oil and vinegar. They don’t mix. As a matter of fact, we’ll discuss a bit about the taboo of money, and why Neil and I think it’s so damn hard to discuss personal finance.

Neil is a young professional, rock climber, and has many interesting stories and suggestions for anyone trying to get the upper hand with their money.

In this interview we discuss Neil’s desire for financial strength, his story of eliminating debt, pursuing financial independence, and preparing for a year-long road trip. And of course, we even have some good-ole-fashioned climbing talk.

Let’s go!

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Podcast Interview: Power Company Climbing Podcast

Clipping Chains Power Company Podcast

Hey guys,

I wanted to reach out with a mid-week post to announce the release of a podcast I recorded with my previous interviewee Kris Hampton of the Power Company Climbing Podcast.

Back in Lander, Wyoming, about a month ago, Kris graciously invited me over to his home to meet in person. We’ve interacted a number of times since I began this project two years ago, but we never crossed paths. And then we pulled out some microphones.

I really enjoyed this conversation about the taboo of money, the parallels to climbing, the dilemma of being “retired” at 35, and the pitfalls of pursuing passionate work without financial security.

Listen to my interview with the Power Company Climbing Podcast here.

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The Simple Systems to Kicking Monetary Ass

financial independence systems

The often-touted rule-of-thumb for achieving financial independence is to secure 25 times one’s annual expenses via intentional saving and investing. Even though these are simple systems, we know from the second or third grade that multiplying things by 25 produces much bigger numbers than the thing itself (our spending in this case). Therefore, it seems absolutely outlandish to imagine saving that much money! Outlandish, I tell you!

So, as with many difficult endeavors in life, the tendency is to focus too narrowly on the distant target, and then immediately get overwhelmed. And in doing so, we may never start in the first place. Behaviors remain unchanged; the status quo is preserved.

How can a series of simple systems be implemented to change our lives forever?

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Bitcoin and Other Things You Shouldn’t Own

Things aren’t always as they seem. Today’s Wall Street darling can quickly fade to black with a single headline. The company that everyone is talking about around the water cooler, while popular, could make for a terrible investment. Helping to fund a new neighborhood restaurant might sound like a fantastic idea, but are the fundamentals there to generate a sustainable return? Today we examine the pitfalls of investing in individual enterprises or commodities, like Bitcoin. But hey, we can still have our fun. Here’s how.

I’ll begin with a story.

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How to Get a Fantastic Deal on a New Car

(From someone who did it twice in three months)

Hi guys. Many in the financial independence community see a new car as the sunlight and garlic to an otherwise sublime fiscal vampire existence.

Thou shalt not buy a new car!

Well, thankfully there are no rules in financial independence, so we bought a new car. Twice. In three months. And we learned a hell of a lot in the process about how to get a good deal.

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Podcast Interview: The Nugget Climbing Podcast

Nugget Climbing Podcast

Hello! I’m pleased to announce the release of an interview I did with Steven Dimmitt of The Nugget Climbing Podcast.

What is the point of a website about climbing and personal finance? Is a life in pursuit of financial independence all deprivation and drudgery? Well, tune in for a lot of words with a slight southern accent. Oh and don’t worry, we talk about climbing too.

This was a lot of fun.

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What It’s Really Like to Not Have to Work on Monday

We started working intently towards financial independence in 2015. Less than five years later, we crossed the finish line. I pinned the merit badge on my flair vest and decided to call it quits on the corporate world, just as COVID-19 was quietly putting the world in a strangle hold. A few weeks later, the stock market crashed, and along with it, our net worth. Is waking up each Monday without needing a job as great as it seems? Am I just running from something?

Well…maybe.

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