Sustainable Investing: Five Important Considerations

So…are you perhaps interested in investing but want to do right by the world? How do we weigh the obvious benefits of investing against the hypocritical feeling that we are funding the dark side of the capitalist system? Many choose a path of sustainable investing, choosing to forego certain companies or industries from their portfolio altogether. But are we accomplishing anything with this approach?

Today we take a wide-ranging view on the ethics of investing, the fundamentals of consumerism, human behavior, and the efficiency of economies to adapt to changes in consumer sentiment. In doing so, we examine five key considerations with sustainable investing.

Continue reading “Sustainable Investing: Five Important Considerations”

EP 5: Diana Crabtree Green: Pay Yourself First

Today I bring you a discussion with Diana Crabtree Green, a rock climber and now part-time Certified Public Accountant (CPA) with more than twenty years of experience in personal finance and tax.

Diana is another one of these climbers that I didn’t think existed in large numbers when I started this project three years ago: Diana and her husband could technically be retired in her 40s. But they both continue to work, at least part time. We’ll discuss why they’ve chosen this balanced approach.

Learn how outdoor enthusiasts are primed to get the ball rolling.

Continue reading “EP 5: Diana Crabtree Green: Pay Yourself First”

EP 3: Chris Mamula: One Bite at a Time

Today I’m excited to bring you an interview with writer and outdoor enthusiast Chris Mamula. Chris is a well-known figure in the personal finance community, particularly the Financial Independence community.

Chris worked as a physical therapist before achieving financial independence and leaving his career in 2017 at age 41. Shortly thereafter, Chris—along with his wife and daughter—moved across the country from Pennsylvania to Ogden, UT, where they now reside.

While Chris and his family yearned for an adventurous life out west, he’s been candid about the challenges of changing too much too soon. We discuss those challenges and how he’s worked through them. We also discuss financial and lifestyle choices that are unique to the outdoor community. Finally, we address the importance of options and flexibility for an unknown future.

Plus much more!

Continue reading “EP 3: Chris Mamula: One Bite at a Time”

EP 1 🎙: Mike Tritt: Rocking in the Free World

Today I’m very happy to bring you a live, in-the-flesh interview with Mike Tritt, a Denver-based climber who achieved financial independence and retired from his mechanical engineering job at age 35.

Mike now climbs full-time and supports his fiancée Suzanna in her career, which she has chosen to continue pursuing. In this interview we discuss how Mike juggled climbing with a career and then walked away from mandatory work in his 30s. We address how Mike is striking a balance between a home-based relationship and the desire for long trips on the road. Finally, we take on the subject of purpose in life without traditional work. Plus, so much more!

Continue reading “EP 1 🎙: Mike Tritt: Rocking in the Free World”

The Long Approach to Being Scared of Investing

The long approach mentality is required to last as an investor. But first a story:

Everybodddy…! Yeahhh-ahhh! Rock your bodddyyy! Yeahhh-ahhh!

These were the lyrics absolutely shaking the walls of the Mercat de l’Olivar fish market in Palma, Mallorca as the mid-day closing time approached. The vendors were busy packing up product, mopping, and wiping down metal countertops in a cool and expansive room, rich with the briny, iodine smells of the sea and the thumping sounds of late-90s Backstreet Boys hits.

And oddly enough, hearing a 1997 boy band hit in 2019 left me thinking about staying power and the long approach. Tell em, boys.

Continue reading “The Long Approach to Being Scared of Investing”

The Bold And Beautiful Roth Conversion Ladder

Hi. Good morning. How are you? I’m excited this week to bring you a much more in-depth analysis of the Roth Conversion Ladder, a method used to spend retirement money early without penalty and with little to no tax burden. I’ve already talked about this method here, here, and here, but I decided this very important topic needed its own special post.

Changing subjects momentarily, I get a real kick out of directly translating ridiculous American expressions in other languages. For instance, when in a German grocery store in 2018, I suddenly wondered if German lovers addressed each other as honig, the German word for honey.

Honig! I’m home!

See, isn’t that fun?

This week we will investigate the intricate web of methods designed to spend the money you’ve saved. It’s not all milch und honig.

Continue reading “The Bold And Beautiful Roth Conversion Ladder”

Six Lessons From a Year Without a Job

I almost didn’t write this post. It’s been such a strange and bizarre year that I didn’t at first consider it representative of the typical “early retirement” experience. Upon further reflection, however, I realized that life—just like those “irregular” regular one-off expenses—is typically atypical. It’s still life, just without a job.

With so much information about self-care, wellness, early retirement, and a life-by-design, I’ve had a lot of time to sift through the noise. And shockingly, perhaps I don’t recommend retiring early.

Here are some lessons from one year without a job…

Continue reading “Six Lessons From a Year Without a Job”

Your Questions Answered: Volume 2

This week we’re taking another look at your specific questions. Today we examine the thorny subject of income and how much is needed to pursue financial independence, how we fund our lives without a job, the best option for medium-term saving goals, some discussion of real estate investing, and a requested expansion on last week’s post about emotional fragility, plus plenty more.

Here’s what you wanted to know…

Continue reading “Your Questions Answered: Volume 2”