Funding the Adventurous Life
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.
Continue reading “Podcast Interview: The Nugget Climbing Podcast”
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.
Continue reading “What It’s Really Like to Not Have to Work on Monday”
Hey, you wanna do something weird? Yeah?? Me too. Let’s take a tour of our emotions.
Come on, trust me, man, it will be cool. It’s not like that.
I think doing this is going to be fun…
Continue reading “Welcome to Your Emotions, Your Guide Today”
History provides context to the current events of our lives. If you snoozed through your high school history class, the global shutdown and pandemic of the novel coronavirus might seem like the worst event to ever face mankind. While it is certainly not, many of us might (or will soon) find the pandemic to be the largest global crisis we’ve faced in our lives. It begs the question: Do tough times make tough people?
Continue reading “Do Tough Times Make Tough People?”
We all want to live the best life. Today we examine the paradox of how attempting to do just that can result in less happiness after all. For all of us that dream of the greener grass on the other side⏤a full-freedom lifestyle or a better job⏤why do so few find a life of contentment once they’ve hopped the fence?
Continue reading “The Fallacy of Happiness and Meaningful Work”
It’s clear now that we will be stuck in our homes for all of April, doing our part to stem the spread of the coronavirus. And let’s be real, I’ve got a close eye on May as well, if not October. While we may be minimizing our physical health risks by staying at home, the negative effects of boredom might be the second-wave infection facing our society. What can we do to maintain or even improve our prospects for sound mental and financial health during these times?
Continue reading “Boredom? Ain’t Nobody Got Time For That”
Right as all this coronavirus nonsense was ramping up, I was writing a really long post about what we were going to do with this new-found financial freedom. I was going to tell you about how (and why) we bought a new 2020 Toyota Tacoma in January. And then I was going to regale you with stories of our sweet little A-Frame camper, and solar, and batteries, and stuff. Oh, and then I was going to explain to you our plans for a super-rad road-trip across the country and all the adventure. Then came the coronavirus. Then I was rudely smacked by an absent-minded 27-year-old girl going 60 mph on the interstate while I was stopped. We suddenly went from one car to no car.
I think we all can agree how quickly life changes.
Continue reading “When Being a One-Car Household Really Sucks”
I don’t want to talk much about the novel coronavirus today. I want to talk about money, because that is what I do here. Money may not be a priority for you and your family now amongst a spreading virus. However, I want to calmly acknowledge that the world is also facing a very real personal finance threat, one that could be far more impactful for most Americans than the virus itself (which I’m not taking lightly). Before we make rash decisions in a time of panic and hysteria, let’s examine some important headlines from the 2008 financial crisis and why those messages are so incredibly important right now.
Continue reading “Shocking Headlines of the 2008 Financial Crisis”
Happy Monday! What a week! The coronavirus is spreading like southern Kudzu and is now officially a pandemic. Social distancing is suddenly the new order, flaming a wildfire of fear and panic, crippling the economy. The stock market is currently down 20% from its February high. The S&P 500 dropped 9.5% in a single day. And then the very next day the market bounced back 9.3%. We have entered bear market territory, ending the historic 11-year bull market run. OPEC meddling crashed oil prices. And I just quit my job. We have (had?) big plans for a new way of life. So, what’s changed?
Continue reading “The Sky is Falling: Lessons from the Coronavirus”
Hey guys, we’re back stateside (coronavirus free?) and I’m here to provide the final installment on our trip to Sicily. We’ve discussed the climbing, the lifestyle, and the food, but perhaps there’s a feeling of dismissiveness because it all seems too outlandishly expensive to go galavanting around in Europe. But is it?
Continue reading “Sicily, Part 3: Two People, Two Weeks, $1300.”