debt Archives - CLIPPING CHAINS

September 11, 2023September 10, 2023

The Great American Student Loan Debt with Emma Crawford

In America, student loan debt has exploded over the last twenty years, with the average inflation-adjusted federal loan debt per student rising from under $29,000 in 2011 to nearly $40,000 in 2020. Students and their parents are paying an increasingly costly price for college education, outpacing growth in expected starting salaries.

After more than three years, loan payments are coming due again after the expiration of a Covid-era forbearance program put in place under President Trump and extended under President Biden. My guest today, Emma Crawford, is intimately familiar with student loans as both a borrower as well as a former university aid advisor, and now as a financial planner.

Emma Crawford is the former Director of Financial Wellness and Financial Aid Advising for the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. She holds the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation and is a fee-only financial planner for Perk Planning, based out of Madison, Wisconsin. Emma joins me on the show today to discuss the evolving and complicated world of student loans for the first two-thirds of the show. The final third of the interview is dedicated to discussing the equally convoluted world of financial planners and advisors. We discuss the nature of fee-only advising and who may find this type of service appropriate.

August 14, 2023January 19, 2024

QA11: Laying It Out in Simple Terms

We’re back to the digital mailbag to answer your questions!

For this week:

How has my lifestyle evolved since achieving financial independence and how do I spend my time?
Updated thoughts on money and markets
Are we putting too much faith in institutions like Vanguard?
Can and should life insurance policies be used for retirement savings?
Tax avoidance versus accepting higher tax rates
What is a Simple IRA and how does it differ from a 401(k)? Can I still do Roth conversions?
Savings rates are great! Should I pay less on my loans to maximize my savings?
Big picture: Where do I start on getting my financial life together?
Outreach and presentations
So much more!

March 27, 2023March 27, 2023

Brent Barghahn: Real Estate Investing and the Future of Home Ownership

Today on episode 59 I’m pleased to host Brent Barghahn, a 29-year-old elite climber who used real estate investment as a way to effectively “retire” from his career as an engineer in the outdoor industry in his late twenties.

Brent and I discussed a fascinating reality on the idea of dream jobs, the growing trend of short-duration careers (and what that means for society), and of course many details on Brent’s path to financial strength and community building through his preferred method of real estate investment. Of course, though, I wanted to discuss the stark differences in today’s high interest rate and sky-high price environment, which has changed markedly in the last year. It begs the question: can someone still be successful as a real estate investor today? I have my concerns, so we aired out some of them in today’s episode.

Finally, we take an interesting look at the realities of full-time climbing and why Brent has found he needs more. Also, Brent and I admittedly harbor negative sentiments on the world of social media, especially in climbing. What narratives and stories are being missed by the modern form of shallow media consumption?

January 2, 2023January 1, 2023

Joy and Tyler Black on Career, Money Mindsets, and Parenting

Today’s guests on episode 51 are Joy and Tyler Black. Many of you may be familiar with Joy, who has rapidly built a successful online business as a coach for pregnant and postpartum rock climbers. If you follow Joy on Instagram, you know her as a fun-loving and engaging mother of three, with a reputation for solid technical and personal coaching. Tyler on the other hand, is not a climber at all. He’s a biologist with a contrasting, yet highly complementary personality. In that way, they make for fantastic interview subjects on the discussion of relationships, money, career, and parenting.

October 31, 2022October 30, 2022

It’s Not All Hard Luck with Shay Skinner

In her late teens and early twenties, Shay Skinner was disowned from her family. She struggled with crushing mental illness, which ultimately culminated in a suicide attempt that left her in financial ruin. From this dismal situation, Shay filed for bankruptcy and began a long and fruitful climb toward being whole again. How can we summon the courage to take such measures of personal accountability?

August 29, 2022August 29, 2022

Student Loan Forgiveness: Here’s What You Need to Know

This week the Biden administration announced the Student Debt Relief Plan. This controversial piece of legislation is a historic student loan forgiveness program for college students, providing relief of up to $20,000. Importantly, many will be able to erase all student loans!!

Regardless of opinions on the matter, here’s what you need to know, and most importantly, what you need to do.

Even if you don’t have student loans, help spread the word on this time-sensitive opportunity.

March 28, 2022March 27, 2022

EP 27: Homes and Vans with Tien and Brandon Rooney

Today on episode 27 we are taking a deeper dive on real estate investing with climbers Tien and Brandon Rooney of Five Twelve Real Estate. This couple shares a very intriguing history, spanning from college athletics to corporate world wake-up calls, the latter of which inspired them to uproot their lives and teach and travel throughout Asia.

Eventually, looking to rekindle the youthful days of travel and freedom, Tien and Brandon turned to real estate investment as a way to fast-track their path to financial independence. They even moved into a van full-time to further optimize their financial journey.

We carefully examine the many methods of real estate investment, including some key tips for first-time home buyers. Find out if this path is for you!

February 21, 2022February 20, 2022

EP 23: Erik Jenson: Real Estate Investing with Training Wheels

Today on episode 23 I’m happy to welcome climber, dentist, and real estate investor, Erik Jenson. In addition to paying down hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loan debt, Erik is now living rent- and mortgage-free through the process of house hacking. This form of real estate investing involves renting out rooms in the home where he lives, allowing him to build equity and repeat the process with additional properties. Referring to this process as “real estate investing with training wheels,” Erik is generating an outsized return compared to the single-family home so many of us consider “investments.”

August 24, 2020August 24, 2020

Neil Phillips: Money as a Means to an Incredible Journey

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!

August 10, 2020August 10, 2020

Bethany Macke: The Powerful Art of the Pivot

Okay friends, let’s do an interview, shall we? This week I bring you Bethany Macke, a climber and trainer with a unique approach to correcting muscle imbalances and mechanics, an often-overlooked foundation to building movement skills. Bethany, along with her husband Adam, bring more than just a different approach to training. She also has an interesting story of change, adversity, and building meaningful work, even during the pandemic. And sometimes change comes in high doses. In the age of Covid, there’s much we can learn from Bethany’s resiliency, and mastery of the career and personal pivot. And of course, we even discuss a bit about the freedom of financial strength.

One quick note: Bethany has a lot of great little nuggets in this interview, so it’s a long one. Please let me know in the comments or via email if you’d prefer to see interviews this long broken into two or more parts. Or maybe you prefer it all in one place. Let me know!

Let’s go!