You Know A Recession is Coming, Right?

A year ago, in December 2018, I wrote two posts concerning the “imminent” recession: Five Ways to Recession-Proof Your Life and Keeping the “Safe” in Safe Withdrawal Rate. Well, a year has come and gone, and as I write this in December 2019, we are at yet another all-time high in the stock market. America’s longest bull market continues gouging ahead like those fiery beasts in the narrow streets of Pamplona, Spain.

Is this time different?

For those of you out there beginning any sort of retirement (early or not), is your timing perfect or incredibly unfortunate?

How about if you are wondering if now is the best (or worst) time to start investing?

Let’s have a look…

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Full Pursuit of Climbing Isn’t Full Freedom After All

This week’s post was written as a guest post for the UK-based Chalkbloc.com. I’ll admit, there’s a bit of controversy here. I love climbing as much as the next guy, but I believe that full pursuit of the sport can leave us a bit unbalanced. Steve Bechtel, in his interview here last week, rightfully points out that no one is really all that balanced. You’ll hear no argument from me, but we might as well try. Financial stability is very simple, but not necessarily easy. Let’s see what it really takes to find the freedom we’ve been longing for.

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Steve Bechtel: The Importance of Time

Steve Bechtel is a Lander, Wyoming-based climber, trainer, author, and business owner. Steve is also a pillar of the Lander outdoors community, a long-time owner of Elemental Performance + Fitness and Climb Strong, a training program specifically tailored to climbers. After following Steve’s work for a number of years, I suspected he might bring his thoughtful approach to climbing and training to other aspects of his life. In this interview, he doesn’t disappoint.

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Financial Advisor: Who Needs One?

The stock market is scary. I completely understand; there was once a time when I wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot pole. In fact, according to Ally Invest, 65% of survey respondents are intimidated by investing. It seems like a Wild West proposition, and surely only well-trained professionals are equipped to predict the future success of individual companies. You realize the potential of investing, but you wouldn’t know how to start. It’s probably best to pay a financial advisor for this service, right?

Some say the answer to whether you need a financial advisor is “maybe,” but I’m more strongly in the “no” camp. Here’s why.

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Chelsea Murn: Wellness for All

This week I’m happy to bring you a conversation with Chelsea Murn, a 28-year-old climber, health coach, and dog-mom from Spokane, Washington.

I don’t exactly remember how, but I stumbled on to Chelsea’s profile on social media (Instagram actually). Over the months I’ve noticed that she has a drive to be more than just a typical psyched climber. She’s working to build a career around her passions of nutrition and health. But Chelsea fully recognizes that doing so requires a careful balancing act with a properly paying day job and her own climbing performance objectives. Many of you out there are trying to navigate that balance.

I also couldn’t help but notice Chelsea’s occasional discussions of money online. As we’ll touch on below, Chelsea is living a life familiar to millions of young (and old) Americans, and she’s taking action to gain the upper hand:

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Do You Deserve a Life You Can’t Afford?

A Life You Can't Afford PROMO

This is a tough subject, brimming with unspoken taboos. The more I’ve researched, read, and written about personal finance, the more deeply I’ve come to understand a fundamental truth: many people want a certain lifestyle, and they are going to live that life regardless of whether there is money to support it. Do you deserve a life you can’t afford?

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