CLIPPING CHAINS

January 7, 2019October 28, 2019

Five “Essentials” That Are Destroying Your Savings

Well folks, new year, new goals. Are you looking to increase your savings rate this year?

Are you really interested in saving? “No” is a completely acceptable answer, by the way. If you prefer to answer no, you can largely disregard what’s written below and carry on with a plan more suitable for you. We fully recognize that a frugal existence is not for everyone. We cool? Cool.

However, if you’re really interested in saving tens of thousands of dollars, it’s going to require not only change, but a complete re-framing of your lifestyle.

These sort of changes will require a degree of discomfort — whether it’s physical, social, or otherwise — until you become accustomed to a new normal. That’s the beauty of the human condition; we’re adaptable. Take it from us that perceived discomfort can, with time, result in a new-found appreciation for a more simple existence. And the benefits are not purely financial. Building a new life of simplicity brings the benefits of a difficult-to-describe feeling of place in the world. A place you’ve earned, not bought. If you trust us in that, let’s read on.

December 31, 2018December 30, 2018

Getting Down with Charlie “Brown”

Charlie is indeed his first name, but I playfully made up the “Brown” part. Isn’t that fun?! Charlie has asked to remain partially anonymous (as we do here), because he’s discussing some stuff that his bosses might not like. We get it — nothing says I want a big bonus this year like “save money, retire early, blah, blah” on the internet.

The real Charlie Brown is kind of a downer, but not this Charlie. He and his wife are gaming out their life, and that’s pretty cool.

December 24, 2018May 4, 2019

Happy Holidays and Thanks for Your Support!

Yes, we’re a day early. I was nearing completion on a post completely unrelated to the holidays when I realized the timing. Instead, I just want to simply take the time to thank you all for being “here”.

I know “here” likely means hunched over a smartphone in a bathroom stall (wash your hands!). Or perhaps it means a new tab on your web browser when you hit a tiny snag at work. Either way, we’re grateful that you’ve chosen to be unproductive with us.

Consider this our digital ____________ (fill in holiday of choice) card.

December 17, 2018January 20, 2020

Five Ways to Recession-Proof Your Life

Market volatility and the potential for a recession is what gives the stock market a bad name, right? No silly, as we’ve discussed here, it’s really the investor’s psychology that gives the market a bad name. Because the market always goes up…eventually.

With the recent market volatility we’ve been seeing in late 2018, it feels timely to discuss the impacts of a recession on someone living off their investments. Even if you care zero about financial independence and investing, a recession could mean an abrupt cessation of your paycheck. Let’s strap on bullet-proof vests together!

December 10, 2018December 22, 2018

Building Something with Justin Brown (Rhino Skin Solutions)

When it comes to climbing, skin is the interface between you and the rock. Climbers don’t wear gloves. Well, crack climbers sort of wear gloves, but that’s another story. For the rest of us, the condition of our skin can mean the difference between success and failure. Justin Brown has made the condition of your hands his business.

December 3, 2018December 26, 2018

Keeping the “Safe” in Safe Withdrawal Rate

Musings on How We Plan to Live off our Money

The question we are asked the most about financial independence — and especially the “retire early” portion of the equation — is how we plan to live off the money we’ve saved and invested. Are we even going to retire early? What will we do with our time? What if the market goes down? Sorry, that’s more than one question, isn’t it? The first critical aspect to address in a post-FI life is the safe withdrawal rate. Let’s take a look…

Continue reading “Keeping the “Safe” in Safe Withdrawal Rate”

November 26, 2018December 17, 2019

Power Company Climbing: Training Plan Review

Power Company Training Review Title Image

This article is a completely unsolicited review. No one at Power Company asked for my feedback, and frankly, they may not want it. I paid full price for their Custom Training Plan, and there are no imbedded affiliate links in this article.

Training for climbing has many parallels to pursuing financial independence: You can hit the low-hanging fruit and see huge gains early on, but then it’s a game of stacking small short-term gains for long-term growth.

If you’ve been following this site, you know by now that we are very intentional about our spending. After watching from the sidelines for several years, I recently jumped on board a personalized training plan with Power Company Climbing. Here’s what I thought…

November 19, 2018December 22, 2018

Mark Anderson: Fully Optimized

Mark Anderson is more than just an impressive climber. He’s also the co-author of the wildly popular The Rock Climber’s Training Manual, a husband, a father of two young children, and a prolific route developer. Oh yeah, and he balances all of this with a full-time career completely independent of rock climbing. On top of all that, Mark and his wife are pursuing financial independence!

November 12, 2018January 22, 2022

Part 2: The CC Family Investing Strategy

Investing Strategy: Where Exactly is Our Money?

This is Part 2 in a series. Check out Part 1 for our investing strategy and asset allocation.

Now you have a sense of our investing strategy in terms of asset allocation, but that’s not helping you get started. Let’s take a look at some common investment “buckets” and how we are dividing out our investments.

It’s easy to get lost in the details, so let’s break it down to the basics right up front. No more paralysis by analysis. Below are our top five pillars of a sound investing strategy.

November 5, 2018January 22, 2022

Part 1: The CC Family Investing Strategy:

Philosophy and Asset Allocation

We’ve spoken now in shades of vagueness about our investments and investing strategy. We’re focused first and foremost on simply getting folks to save more. Begin with allocating the majority of your effort to increasing the gap between money in and money out. Slowly chip away, with a goal of spending less than half of your income. If you can make step-changes in this area, you are light years ahead of most Americans, and frankly most humans. So yeah, start there.

…We’re focused first and foremost on simply getting folks to save more.

The next element of this game is getting your new-found savings to start making money for you. Your traditional savings and checking accounts are not your friend. With an average interest rate on a typical savings account at 0.08% APY (!), your money is losing value over time as your courageous dollar fights a valiant, but fruitless battle against the tyrant forces of inflation (current inflation rate is around 2%). Remember, goods and services today will cost more next year. You either need more income or higher interest rates on your savings, just to keep up!