There’s No Way I’m Investing in this Economy!

There's No Way I'm Investing in this Economy!

On August 18, 2020, against all odds, the S&P 500 hits a new all-time high. Almost exactly six-months prior, the voices of consternation—from all corners, mind you—are inciting fears of Depression-era financial instability in the global economy. Well-minded folks are selling equities for gold and cash, and the more troubled are lining up at the bank, six feet apart, to withdraw their money. Much of the devastation of the pandemic hasn’t changed, yet the stock market is back on top. Or is it?

What in the hell is going on, and should you be a part of it?

Let’s go!

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In Contrast: The Reality of Life on the Road

In Contrast: The Reality of Life on the Road

What follows is an essay outlining the stark contrast of life on the road. It’s frankly easy to get really frustrated out here. Social media, blogs, and YouTube channels often paint a masterpiece of life on the road as an effortless, pillowy dream state and hall pass from reality. We’d certainly spent enough nights outside prior to this trip to know the ridiculousness of these claims. However, I like to be an honest guy on this website.

My mother nailed it when she said that the struggle for meeting basic needs and the lack of external social interactions can be a very real challenge. That said, might this be the very best place to be in the summer of 2020?

Let’s see why…

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Keeping Remote Work in a Post-Pandemic World

Remote Work

The global coronavirus pandemic flipped the world on its head: spreading tentacles of infection led to a stock market collapse and unprecedented unemployment for those not fortunate to have remote work. A thick, dry underbrush of discontent and polarization grew unchecked for months, sparked by a series of lightning strikes, resulting in a raging inferno. People amassed on the streets in search of change, driving each side someplace closer to their dreaded corners of hate.

With a new decade came so much promise, yet the rate of change experienced in the first seven months of 2020 feels like that new decade has already come to pass. So much to consider in seven months.

But with all this negativity can come so much promise. While there can be an element of guilt to consider silver linings, we must. We must always look for promise and hope in times of darkness, for every night eventually turns to day.

One such ray of sunshine is the movement towards a more permanent remote work culture. The fortunate white-collar world has been working business on top, party on the bottom (nice shirt for the screen, underwear in the seat) since March.

So…what’s it going to take to keep that cushy remote job in a post-pandemic world?

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Selling Our House: On the Road, Pandemic Edition

Selling our house during a pandemic, life on the road

It’s July. Once again, coronavirus infections are surging across the country. Mrs. CC and I, in a moment of hopeful optimism a few weeks ago, decided to list our house for sale. Where are we going? We don’t know, we’ll be homeless. Will we have income? Not sure. Considering we’re hitting the road in one week, there’s the shocking reality that we really don’t have a plan. And if we are anything, we are planners.

So…where do we go from here?

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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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Do Tough Times Make Tough People?

Tough times promo

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?

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Boredom? Ain’t Nobody Got Time For That

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?

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