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    Clipping Chains Podcast

    Funding the adventurous life.
    en84 Episodes

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    Episodes (84)

    Four Years of Financial Independence: The Slow Growth

    Four Years of Financial Independence: The Slow Growth

    For four years I’ve watched something slowly bloom. In my old life, the “before time” you might call it, I moved from task to task. If I wasn’t working, I unknowingly made a practice of turning recreational or hobbyist pursuits into something that, from an outsider’s perspective, looked an awful lot like work. Goals and accolades were everything, and the more quantifiable, the better. But the farther I’ve separated myself from this life in space and time, the more clarity I’ve gained. 

    Grasping for metaphors, I was tempted to explain this budding awareness as a slowly growing flower. But for perhaps all the wrong reasons, I hesitated to describe my growth and awareness as floral, preferring to drop the metaphor. But I can’t quite shake it, because I have watched something slowly grow. It’s not me that has bloomed–again, all the wrong imagery–but it is the world I could not see then. I could not see the flawed logic buried in the cold and wet earth because I identified with it. It was my life, so I could not reject what protected me. And four years later I’ve watched something slowly take root.

     

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    Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

    The Psychology Behind Poor Investments and Other Important Decisions

    The Psychology Behind Poor Investments and Other Important Decisions

    When we make important decisions, we are often not as rational or objective as we’d like to believe. The base rate fallacy is the tendency to misjudge the probability of a situation by not accounting for all relevant information. This cognitive bias affects everything from first impressions to voting preferences to broad market behavior.

     

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    A Unique Form of Real Estate Investment in a Tough Housing Economy (with Michael Farnsworth)

    A Unique Form of Real Estate Investment in a Tough Housing Economy (with Michael Farnsworth)

    If you follow economic news at all, you’ve taken note of the changing conditions of the American housing economy in the last few years. First, high demand, low supply, and cheap debt fueled an extraordinary (and unhealthy) price surge. In response, the Federal Reserve ratcheted up interest rates to cool an overheated economy in the wake of pandemic-related disruptions

    In years prior, economic conditions supported a vast proliferation of real estate investment. Individual investors to multinational corporations scooped up properties across the country for cheap. The returns were fantastic. But in my mind, those days were decidedly over.

    When my guest today, Michael Farnsworth, discussed his novel concept of real estate investment, I was all ears. Do many of the real estate investment rules-of-thumb still function in a world of 7%+ mortgage rates and all-time high prices? Is now really the time to start a real estate investment portfolio? Is this even the time to buy a personal residence? And when it comes to short-term rentals, what are the ethical considerations to local economies and community fabric? We cover all this and more in today’s episode.

     

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    Topics Discussed with Michael Farnsworth

    • The “Triangle of Death:” Michael’s unique form of House Hacking
    • 2024 climbing goals: 100th first-try 5.12 and V10
    • Stock market vs real estate investing
    • Michael’s struggle with remote work and feeling grounded
    • The characteristics of a real estate investor
    • The viability of real estate investing in a high-interest and low-supply (e.g., expensive) market
    • Michael’s ongoing landlord nightmare scenario
    • Decision to leave his traditional career to pursue property management full-time
    • Intellectual stimulation without a traditional job
    • Financial metrics and characteristics of the ideal rental property
    • Understanding costs and the importance of detailed accounting
    • When and how much to raise rents
    • Nontraditional means of mortgage funding
    • Considerations on property managers
    • Ethical considerations of short-term rentals (Airbnb, etc)
    • Michael’s ideal lifestyle
    • Suffering from lupus and two kidney transplants
    • So much more!

    QA12: Will A Life Of Financial Independence Meet Expectations?

    QA12: Will A Life Of Financial Independence Meet Expectations?

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

    For this week:

    • An update on markets and our personal finance situation
    • The role of dividends in growth and withdrawal assumptions
    • Expectations vs reality on a life of financial independence
    • Our experience with health insurance without employer-sponsored plans
    • Real estate investing: an update on our experiences and economics as remote landlords
    • Health insurance considerations for long-term travel
    • Short- to medium-term savings goals (like a house) versus saving for retirement
    • Loss of purpose without a traditional job
    • So much more!

     

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    Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

     

    Q1: What’s the latest on markets and your financial situation since you left your corporate career? (00:02:38)

     

    Q2: Expectations versus experiences on the financially independent life (00:16:33)

     

    Q3: Could you provide an update on your experiences and costs with ACA (Obamacare) insurance? (00:27:42)

     

    Q4: I’d like to hear any details you’re willing to share on your remote landlord experience (00:39:36)

     

    Q5: My partner and I are taking a sabbatical! What should we do about insurance? (00:50:30)

     

    Q6: How do I prioritize retirement savings against saving for short- to medium-term savings goals, like buying a house? (00:56:20)

     

    Q7: Why are we so concerned about the loss of purpose when we stop working a traditional job? (01:04:31)

    Facing the Rest of the World with a Nontraditional Lifestyle

    Facing the Rest of the World with a Nontraditional Lifestyle

    When I left my corporate career in early 2020, I didn’t fully understand the ways that I would, in later years, slowly become decoupled and desynchronized from a society that values hustle, status, and self-worth generated to a large degree around our career titles. You’ll read the same thing repeatedly on the internet: Ignore the haters, do your thing.

    But when I actually sit down and talk with those who are living similar lives, regardless of their financial position, I find that the tidy internet talking points leave many of us dissatisfied. After all, humans are one of the most social species on the planet. We shouldn’t be surprised by the difficulty in overriding instinct, to go against the grain of what the herd values most. My thinking has evolved dramatically on this subject in recent years, so let’s dig in.

     

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    Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

    "The Rewards of Being in One Place for a While" (Meghan Walker and Callan Cooper)

    "The Rewards of Being in One Place for a While" (Meghan Walker and Callan Cooper)

    By popular demand, I’ve decided to extend a travel series centered around the topic of building community or maintaining our need for social interactions when away from home. Community building is especially complicated when abroad, where cultures and languages vary considerably from our own. My guests today, veteran travelers with considerable expat experiences, are perfectly suited to discuss this topic.

     

    Meghan Walker, a previous guest who writes at awaytofi.com, spent many of her formative years living abroad in Kenya and New Zealand. Her husband, Callan Cooper, is an expat living in the United States from New Zealand, where they met. Meghan and Callan joined me in my home in Colorado for a rare in-person interview, where we discussed in detail the beauty and challenges of international extended travel, careers, evolving travel philosophies, and financial tactics that can have you living a similar life much sooner than you think.

     

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    Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

    Tyler Karow: The Tiny Future of Affordable Housing

    Tyler Karow: The Tiny Future of Affordable Housing

    I’m a little unsure of the best way to frame this introduction. In some ways, this is a story of embracing climbing for all the right reasons. Pursuit of technical mastery and love for the outdoors over the gamification of grades and emphasis on physical training. On the other hand, this is also the story of early adulthood in the modern era. The narrative to pursue something like climbing full-time is strong in the outdoor world. But most I encounter eventually find that climbing alone leaves us yearning for meaning and purpose. My guest today, Tyler Karow, spent nearly three years on the road pursuing climbing. Today he balances considerable climbing achievements with a secondary passion for building and a desire to be a part of the solution to America’s affordable housing crisis.

    Karow is a 29-year-old climber known for his big wall accomplishments in Yosemite, Patagonia, and around the globe. His resume includes a ground-up free ascent of Golden Gate (5.13a) on El Cap, and Yosemite’s Triple Crown in under 24 hours, only the eighth time this feat has been achieved. Notably, Karow climbed the Triple while working a full-time (plus) job. He holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Southern California and is a licensed civil engineer and general contractor. With this background in engineering and construction, he envisions a career helping to build prefabricated tiny home communities. This emerging approach to construction helps to reduce the cost of new housing and more efficiently add supply to a stressed housing market.

    This episode is an Oreo of sorts, with a focused discussion of Tyler’s climbing achievements and work/life balance in the beginning and end. The middle of this discussion takes a deep dive into the affordable housing crisis, the complex nature of new construction, and Tyler’s vision for the future of American affordable housing.

     

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    Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

    The Social Dilemma of Extended Travel (Jeff, A Way to FI)

    The Social Dilemma of Extended Travel (Jeff, A Way to FI)

    In October I published a mini episode on my thought processes on the pros and cons of extended travel abroad. Many of you left comments or emailed me your thoughts, and I’m so thankful for your input. You’ve all given me plenty to consider. One of the most insightful emails came from Jeff of awaytofi.com, a previous guest on this podcast (Episode 44). 

    Jeff has been living abroad for over fifteen months with his wife, Rose, and as such is well-versed in discussing the impacts of extended travel, particularly on our social lives. This week’s episode is an in-depth exploration of extended travel, especially as it relates to our human need for a sense of place and community. Travel takes us away from our tribe, so how do we create new ones? Do we even need to? You can probably expect more content like this with upcoming guests and articles.

     

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    Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

    Uncertainty Is Forever (And That's Good News)

    Uncertainty Is Forever (And That's Good News)

    Uncertainty is a fact of life, yet we yearn for known outcomes. Every day we make decisions. Some decisions are small and inconsequential, while others are profound and life-altering. Sometimes events happen regardless of our decisions. And above it all and looming like a nervous wind is uncertainty. Uncertainty is forever.

    But those who learn to sit with and embrace uncertainty are resilient and innovative. Those who try to fight uncertainty spend more money and live with less contentment.

     

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    James McHaffie: From Bold Climbing to Novel Writing

    James McHaffie: From Bold Climbing to Novel Writing

    James McHaffie needs no introduction, at least in the United Kingdom. His approach to bold onsight climbing, particularly free solos, is unparalleled. He’s repeated the hardest sport climb in Wales, Big Bang (9a), sent Britain’s hardest sea cliff, Dave MacLeod’s The Longhope Direct (E10 7a), and made the first ascent of The Meltdown, a 9a slab in the slate quarries of his home in North Wales. And now he’s written a book. But unlike many books released by elite climbers, this is not an autobiographical account of hard climbs in the face of relative adversity. Caff, as he prefers to be called, has written a fictional account of Eleri, a young woman amongst the slate quarries of North Wales who in the aftermath of a family suicide takes aim at British politicians who pushed for austerity and the conditions that led to such suffering. 

    This conversation was such a gift. I can see even through all that rage that James is brimming with humanity, a trait sometimes in short supply. I hope you’ll enjoy this one as much as I did.

     

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    Topics Discussed with James McHaffie

    • Discovering the Welsh rave scene after a midlife crisis
    • Life and climbing in Wales
    • Climbing origin story and why James gravitated toward soloing
    • The pressure to be bold
    • Why James isn’t as well known in the US
    • A near-death experience on the Masters Wall and how that affected his confidence
    • The concept of modesty and how it has evolved in recent years: “Social media has been a shotgun to the head of modesty”
    • The infamous Rab blog and why he wants to separate himself from his “Dark Lord” reputation
    • Balancing financial security with elite climbing
    • The best job James ever had and why it is important for him to work with the underserved
    • Dealing with depression and dark times through his work
    • The events that inspired a novel
    • A brief political debate and the role of public policy in shaping the lives of the poor
    • Details about the novel and his drive to write it
    • His 9-month experience writing the book
    • What financial security means to James and how he would live with financial freedom
    • What James would change to make his life more meaningful in the future
    • So much more!

    Mini Episode: Is the Best Life Lived at Home?

    Mini Episode: Is the Best Life Lived at Home?

    Years ago, we decided to one day try living abroad for at least a year. We always loved traveling and also always felt that we never had enough time to truly experience a place beyond the superficial. I wanted to stay for a while, learn the language, and slowly morph into a new life mode. But now I’m starting to question the wisdom of this decision. Is living abroad a bad idea?

     

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    Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

    The Problem with Bucket Lists and How to Be Happy with Less

    The Problem with Bucket Lists and How to Be Happy with Less

    It’s often said that happiness equals what you have minus (or sometimes divided by) what you want. When our wants are many, what we have is of little consequence. That is why there are hordes of unhappy millionaires and high achievers who quietly suffer (yes, suffer) under the weight of lofty and insatiable desires and ambitions. 

    Western ideals place great importance on the “haves.” And despite an anecdotal feeling that my greater social circle is less materialistic, I’m less certain that we’ve diminished our appetite for having things. The things look and feel different. Less like fancy watches or cars or gaudy showings of riches and more like spreadsheets full of countries and crags unvisited, food not tasted, status not yet achieved, or routes not sent. 

    We believe subconsciously or otherwise that by checking items off our bucket list we will arrive at some sense of blissful satisfaction. But biology and evolution suggest otherwise.

     

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    Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

    Dr. Jim Dahle of the White Coat Investor on Building the Ideal Life

    Dr. Jim Dahle of the White Coat Investor on Building the Ideal Life

    Jim Dahle is the founder of the White Coat Investor, a widely consumed personal finance and investing blog and podcast specifically designed for physicians and other high-income careers. What Jim created in 2011 as a simple blog has grown into a multi-media empire that now employs fifteen people and hosts content from a range of columnists.

    Jim has cut back from his full-time (plus) emergency physician career and White Coat Investor responsibilities to focus on what makes life worth living, and that’s where I wanted to pick up this conversation. Jim is a climber, husband, and father of four. Today we discuss how he’s managed to step away, at least slightly, from his hard-charging career and blogging days to what he’s now describing as his ideal life.

     

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    Topics Discussed with Jim Dahle

    • How his life evolved from his early career and his adventures from the summer of 2023
    • The Venn diagram of ideal life vs. actual life and why he feels he is living his ideal life
    • Jim’s motivation to monetize White Coat Investor (WCI) and how that led to unexpected lifestyle changes
    • Thoughts on keeping WCI sustainable
    • The importance of the servant mentality
    • The events that led to Jim cutting to part-time emergency room physician
    • How much career capital is necessary to ask for part-time hours in your career?
    • Why Jim passed on several multi-million dollar deals to sell WCI
    • Thoughts on early retirement for those who are young (<50 years old)
    • How Jim balanced climbing with high early-career workloads, WCI, and raising four kids
    • Thoughts on the tradeoff between adventure and career
    • Advice on spending for memorable trips when early career vs saving for future
    • Why Jim maybe was too career-focused early on
    • Why people are “dumb” to get dogmatic about specific investing styles and asset classes
    • Jim’s asset allocation and why he prefers a mix of asset classes
    • How Jim is invested in real estate without managing properties directly
    • Thoughts on the recent pressures on the housing market (high prices and mortgages, increased costs of insurance, etc.)
    • Advice for prospective homeowners in today’s turbulent market
    • Thoughts on climbing ambition and climbing style
    • Resume virtues vs eulogy virtues and the importance of being a good and honest person
    • So much more!

    The Great American Student Loan Debt with Emma Crawford

    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.

     

    Topics Discussed with Emma Crawford

    • When student loan payments are due after the expiration of Covid-era forbearance
    • Where to find information about your loans and loan servicers
    • How Emma used the loan forbearance period to improve her financial situation and lifestyle
    • The importance of automatic payments and how utilizing automation can save you money
    • What is Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) and who is it for?
    • Other repayment options
    • Investigating typical interest rates on student loans and weighing debt paydown against other investing opportunities
    • Federal vs private student loans
    • Can loan forgiveness policies be reversed or overturned in the future?
    • Why has student loan debt become so politically fraught?
    • Balancing the cost of education with expected career choices and pay
    • Considering costs of education beyond tuition
    • How to avoid loan default and what happens to those who default
    • How Emma pays off student loans and other debt while investing for retirement at the same time
    • Who needs a financial advisor and how to choose one
    • The importance of understanding how financial advisors get paid and the fiduciary duty
    • The problem with mixing life insurance and investing
    • How Emma’s background in psychology helps her as a financial planner
    • Emma’s thoughts on the FIRE movement
    • So much more!

     

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    Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

    QA11: Laying It Out in Simple Terms

    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!

     

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    Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

     

    Q1: How has my lifestyle evolved since achieving financial independence and how do I spend my time? (00:02:49)

     

    Q2: Updated thoughts on money and markets (00:05:01)

     

    Q3: What if Vanguard failed?! (00:07:53)

     

    Q4: Can and should life insurance policies be used for retirement savings? (00:11:56)

     

    Q5: When do I stop trying to optimize my tax bracket and just let go? (00:15:30)

     

    Q6: What is a Simple IRA and how does it differ from a 401(k)? Can I still do Roth conversions? (00:18:56)

     

    Q7: Savings rates are great right now! Should I pay less on my loans to maximize my savings? (00:22:39)

     

    Q8: Big picture: Where do I start on getting my financial life together?(00:26:26)

     

    Q9: How was your presentation at the climbing gym? Can you record it? (00:34:51)

     

    Q10: Can you supply podcast transcripts? (00:40:27)

    The One Time to Be Average with Dave Rosen

    The One Time to Be Average with Dave Rosen

    Dave Rosen is a climber and ophthalmologist in his final year of residency. And Dave grew up like so many of us: broadly exposed to the importance of money and taught a thing or two about saving, but investing was a foreign concept and his lack of knowledge was a source of shame.

    While Dave skimmed over it, he’s no slouch as a climber. He has bagged a pile of double-digit boulder problems up to V12, sent 5.13c, and developed numerous boulder problems, particularly in the South Mountain area near Phoenix where he and his wife lived for medical school for four years. He is hard-working, analytical, and pragmatic in his career and life approach. 

    In this conversation, we discuss how Dave found climbing from the world of canyoneering, his early exposure to money and how that has markedly changed in recent years, the constant pull of greener grass, working backward from an ideal lifestyle, and the ethical and moral dilemmas of early retirement.

     

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    Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

    The Real Cost of Home Ownership (and a Life Update)

    The Real Cost of Home Ownership (and a Life Update)

    In the summer of 2020, we sold our home in Denver, Colorado. Once all the costs were tallied, we were shocked to see the return on our home ownership investment. Should we have rented instead? Today we revisit this post in light of our recent move.

     

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    Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

    Mike Piper: Down To The Essence Of Smart Money Management

    Mike Piper: Down To The Essence Of Smart Money Management

    Mike Piper is a CPA and the creator of the Oblivious Investor blog, where he teaches a philosophy of simple and low-maintenance investing.

    Mike’s simple philosophy distills down to three primary principles:

    1. Diversify your portfolio
    2. Minimize costs (commissions, fees, mutual fund expenses, taxes)
    3. Ignore the noise.

    Mike began his career as a CPA before realizing he could support himself by writing books. Surprisingly, he left his secure job during the 2008 financial crisis. He has gone on to publish seventeen books and is widely considered an expert in social security, tax, and a number of other personal finance topics. His work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Morningstar, to name a few.

     

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    Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com

    Six Important Reasons to Reconsider Early Retirement

    Six Important Reasons to Reconsider Early Retirement

    I’m revisiting a post published almost exactly two years ago. At the time of writing, I’d been away from my corporate job for eighteen months. I spent six months of that time living in a tiny A-frame camper with my wife and dog before resettling in the St. George, Utah area.

    I was climbing a lot and working on this website, but I can now comfortably admit that I was in a bit of a low spot in terms of overall life satisfaction. The issue was one of expectations. In other words, I expected too much about a life without my career and I took for granted elements of my work life that enhanced life satisfaction. I was feeling stale with this project—I wouldn’t start the podcast until late summer—and despite having all the time in the world to dedicate to the craft of climbing, I was slowly coming to the realization that I’d used climbing as an attempt to fill a void that was not yet clearly defined or outlined.

    Two years later, I’ve spent considerable time addressing each of the areas discussed in this post, to varying degrees of success. Stay tuned in the coming weeks and months for other changes still ongoing.

     

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    Show Notes and Links at Clippingchains.com