index funds Archives - CLIPPING CHAINS

April 17, 2023May 5, 2023

The Great Comfort of Longevity in the Stock Market

Since the financial crisis of 2008, two dominant views on stock market investing have emerged:

Stock market investing is volatile and risky, akin to gambling.
Stock market investing is reliable and free money.

The Great Recession produced a decline in overall equity values in the range of 50%+ from 2007 to early 2009. The event created a lasting and widespread change in mindsets around personal finance, even what it means to be securely middle class. However, for those that stayed the course, the subsequent Great Bull Market produced exorbitant wealth for almost anyone investing in almost anything.

If there’s a lesson to be learned here, it’s that market growth and declines are cyclical. These cycles are influenced by a complex blend of fiscal policy, business practices, and perhaps most important of all—animal spirits: human behavior and emotion. To balance risk and reward, one should invest broadly in the market as a whole and increase the investing timeline. The latter in particular is easier said than done. In this post today, we quantify the power of longevity in the market. We have reason to rejoice, so long as we can hang on!

February 22, 2021February 22, 2021

Expense Ratio & Fees: They’ll Hose You Big Time

Expense Ratio and Fees: They'll Hose You Big Time

Fees and expense ratios are some of the most poorly understood and (unfortunately) most impactful elements to long-term investing success. While someone investing at all is ahead of the curve, we must be fully aware of the corrosive impacts of the expense ratio and other fees.

This week we explain common sources of fees and analyze just how much they are costing us. Are you paying a financial advisor? We’ve got you on this one!

Let’s go!

November 30, 2020November 29, 2020

Lee Cujes: Super Psyched on the Long Game

This week I’m thrilled to bring you an interview with a pinch of international spice and flavor. Please welcome to the site, the legendary Australian climber Lee Cujes.

In this interview we take a hard look at the long-term aspects of finding a balance on career, lifestyle, relationships, nails-hard climbing, and future prosperity. Lee graciously shares with us how he was able to carve a career niche while climbing at an elite level, how he and his wife Sam made the big move out of the city to a small climbing mecca in the Blue Mountains, and how Lee has used the same, boring and lazy-ass methods of passive investing to build an enduring path to financial freedom. And during some of his darkest days, Lee and Sam embarked on an incredible global climbing trip. Yeah, let’s discuss that too.

Shall we?

September 28, 2020September 27, 2020

Mike Personick: Dirtbag Entrepreneur

Two interviews in a row?! Why the hell not? This week I am exceptionally pleased to bring you this thought-provoking interview with Mike Personick. Mike is a 5.14 rock climber, husband, dad, and former business owner. And now, like me, Mike is living the financially independent rock climber life.

In this interview we delve into the early days of Mike’s climbing in tandem with a remote job. We learn how Mike managed to become a nails-hard climber while simultaneously honing a craft that led to a breakout business, and in time, a lucrative buyout. We hear Mike’s fascinating story of meeting his future wife and traveling in Europe for a year, eventually adding a third human to the equation. Perhaps most importantly, we discuss the simple investing methods that can build financial freedom for us all, as well as the psychological challenges that can topple any kingdom.

Read this one all the way to the end. Mike delivers.

June 22, 2020June 22, 2020

Bitcoin and Other Things You Shouldn’t Own

Things aren’t always as they seem. Today’s Wall Street darling can quickly fade to black with a single headline. The company that everyone is talking about around the water cooler, while popular, could make for a terrible investment. Helping to fund a new neighborhood restaurant might sound like a fantastic idea, but are the fundamentals there to generate a sustainable return? Today we examine the pitfalls of investing in individual enterprises or commodities, like Bitcoin. But hey, we can still have our fun. Here’s how.

I’ll begin with a story.