CLIPPING CHAINS

February 10, 2020October 12, 2020

BREAKING: I (Sort Of) Quit My Job

WHOOAA!! Yes, it’s true. By the time you are reading this, I have finished my last day in Corporate America, facing an uncertain future. We have achieved financial independence, perhaps reaching a new pinnacle of unrelatability. I have no job, and I have no plans for a job. The story of how this came to be is both planned and not, but either way, I’m incredibly excited for what is to come. So, how did we get to this point?

February 3, 2020February 2, 2020

Mike Doyle: A Remote-Controlled Climbing Life

Raise your hand if you want to climb more but work seems to always take up so much time? This notion of balancing work and life is essentially the essence of what we do on this site, and there’s nobody better to discuss this intricate balance than elite-level climber and software engineer Mike Doyle.

January 27, 2020May 6, 2020

How to Make Food at Home That Doesn’t Suck

Let’s get one thing clear right off the bat: I’m not against eating out. I’m 100% an advocate of experiences, and I find that food, when done well, is an art and sensation worth the expense.

That said, far too many folks almost exclusively eat out because either they think there’s no time, or they simply haven’t taken the initiative to learn how to cook. Over time, the resultant opportunity cost is hundreds of thousands of foregone dollars and the delayed effects of one-too-many chicken fingers. Today, let’s examine a handful of really simple tips to make food at home that doesn’t suck.

January 20, 2020January 20, 2020

Wow! You Are So Lucky to Retire Early!

Wow! You Are So Lucky to be Financially Independent!

Are those who become financially independent “lucky?” Are successful business owners, elite athletes, or artistic masterminds “talented?”

Perhaps. But it’s hardly the entire story. Where and how does good fortune end and real “luck” begin?

January 13, 2020January 13, 2020

The Astonishing Cost of Unused Vacation

Hey you guys, it’s 2020, a new year! One of my favorite (past) pastimes is to begin each year with a plan for using all of my vacation. Studies, however, reveal that Americans are rarely capitalizing on the full gift of paid time to not work, and it’s costing us all big-time. The rippling effects go far beyond our own well-being and can affect society at large.

How much are we truly leaving on the table?

January 6, 2020January 6, 2020

Hazel Findlay: Fear Is Trainable

I’m sort of fascinated with the concept of fear. It’s the entire subject of this post, but it’s also something I weave into a lot of my thinking and writing. Steve Bechtel told us how fear affects his clients, noting the powerful, crippling effect of worry, inaction, and ultimately⏤unfulfilled potential. All the best ideas mean nothing when we lay catatonic and hesitant to act on those ideas. It therefore seemed suitable for me to reach out to Hazel Findlay.

Hazel Findlay is a UK-based professional climber known for bold, traditional ascents. To use the American parlance, Hazel steps up to the plate.

Not only has Hazel learned to harness and use fear to propel her climbing career, but she’s begun a coaching career in tandem to mold and shape the fear of others. And speaking of fear, we discuss how her blossoming climbing career nearly came to an early end.

December 30, 2019December 30, 2019

You Know A Recession is Coming, Right?

A year ago, in December 2018, I wrote two posts concerning the “imminent” recession: Five Ways to Recession-Proof Your Life and Keeping the “Safe” in Safe Withdrawal Rate. Well, a year has come and gone, and as I write this in December 2019, we are at yet another all-time high in the stock market. America’s longest bull market continues gouging ahead like those fiery beasts in the narrow streets of Pamplona, Spain.

Is this time different?

For those of you out there beginning any sort of retirement (early or not), is your timing perfect or incredibly unfortunate?

How about if you are wondering if now is the best (or worst) time to start investing?

Let’s have a look…

December 23, 2019December 30, 2019

A Decade In Review: Reflection and a Look Ahead

The holidays mark a unique time of the year — a time of reflection. Perhaps this is the only time when we are more likely to consider where we’ve come than where we are going. As we mark the end of a decade, I feel an even stronger sense of reflection, and I’m sure you do too.

How do you feel about this past year, or the past ten years?

Will 2020 be the beginning of the best years of our lives, or more of the same? For most of us, there’s far more of that trajectory that we can control than we might first consider.

December 16, 2019December 16, 2019

Charles Sheldon: FIRE Before It Was Cool

Charles Sheldon lived over a century ago. There was no Twitter, no hashtags, no websites, and no “financial independence movement.” After a brief but lucrative career in the railroad and mining industries, Sheldon became a self-made millionaire in his 30s and retired at age 35. He used his newfound freedom to track down bighorn sheep and then, you know, became the “Father of Denali National Park.”

So, it begs the question: what would we do if we were given the gift of time?

December 9, 2019December 9, 2019

But There's No Time to Save Money!

Throwing on a jacket, I hurriedly move wide-eyed about the house, gathering my crap strung aimlessly in seemingly every room. Let’s see, it’s a gym day, so I need my gym bag, chalk bucket, climbing shoes, and post-session snack. Damnit, where are my keys?! IT’S TIME TO GO!!

Ugh…honey, can you fill up the dog’s water? LOOK, I’M JUST ASKING FOR ONE SIMPLE FAVOR!!

Yes, love you too. I’m sorry I raised my voice. Kisses?

Sound familiar? Busyness, often worn as a badge of honor, is one of the prime reasons folks struggle to spend less. This is particularly true when it comes to food. Yes, spending less often requires front-end planning and action, preparing meals in advance for easy and quick deployment later. Below we examine the often-ridiculous fallacy of busyness and offer six ways anyone can free up more time to live better and spend less.