savings Archives - CLIPPING CHAINS

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 3, 2020August 9, 2021

How to Destroy Your Finances in Your 20s and 30s

The following are fictional narratives of many of the character traits, decisions, and habits that either my wife or I have exhibited, or those observed or communicated by readers of this website. Let’s examine together some of the many common scenarios where young people set the ball rolling on a path to destroying their finances.

July 13, 2020July 13, 2020

The Simple Systems to Kicking Monetary Ass

The often-touted rule-of-thumb for achieving financial independence is to secure 25 times one’s annual expenses via intentional saving and investing. Even though these are simple systems, we know from the second or third grade that multiplying things by 25 produces much bigger numbers than the thing itself (our spending in this case). Therefore, it seems absolutely outlandish to imagine saving that much money! Outlandish, I tell you!

So, as with many difficult endeavors in life, the tendency is to focus too narrowly on the distant target, and then immediately get overwhelmed. And in doing so, we may never start in the first place. Behaviors remain unchanged; the status quo is preserved.

How can a series of simple systems be implemented to change our lives forever?

April 13, 2020April 14, 2020

Market Timing: Why It (Still) Doesn’t Work

Oh boy! Nothing like a good bear market/recession quick-slider combo to stir the simmering pot in the investing world! There’s no need for a long introduction. Let’s dive into the meat: why market timing still doesn’t work.

August 26, 2019October 17, 2019

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:

August 19, 2019August 18, 2019

Do You Deserve a Life You Can’t Afford?

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?

July 22, 2019August 6, 2019

Early Retirement: Is It the Solution?

Alrighty then, let’s get back down to some brass tacks, shall we? I originally started this website in a heartfelt effort to get folks thinking about their finances. And what was the bait? It was our story of a potential early retirement. So how is our plan coming along?

May 28, 2019August 6, 2019

But I Don’t Want to Be Frugal

You’ve read a bit about financial independence, and perhaps your interest is piqued. But the more you read, the more you see a potential life of deprivation. People are saving 50-70% of their income, but they won’t buy a coffee! You know damn well that Sally enjoys eating out, but now she just stays at home with her spreadsheets and swears she’s happy. That doesn’t seem like much of a life, huh? Well, I agree. Let’s investigate whether being frugal is overhyped.

April 15, 2019August 9, 2021

Reader Case Study: Maximize Adventure or Career?

Full disclosure, I’m posting this week’s case study as an interview, but no one is being interviewed here. This post is the amalgamation of several email discussions I’ve had with readers in the last two to three months. The premise is this: folks out there know some form of career is necessary, but they’re overwhelmed by the idea of 40+ years of something that isn’t the dream job. Oh yeah, and they’re obsessed with rock climbing.

I’m going to outline below the basic way we’ve structured our lives to be career-focused for only a small portion of our adult lives. From there, we’re free to pursue whatever it is that gets us giddy (which can still be a career).

March 11, 2019August 9, 2021

Tracking Your Spending: The Ultimate Task

I realize that only some small subset of the folks who end up on this website are likely to pursue financial independence. It’s not for everyone. But if we can make a single small impression on you, dear reader, it would be to invest time in tracking your spending. It doesn’t matter if you are clawing your way out of debt or nearing retirement in your late 20s, you must know exactly how much money is being spent. The more specific you can be in tracking your spending, the more power you have in making change.

Tag: savings