I started Clipping Chains in late 2018. I didn’t have a super clear direction at the time, but I knew I wanted to combine my two favorite obsessions, rock climbing and personal finance.

You see, the outdoors community, but climbers in particular, are drawn to freedom. We have the Van Life movement, we have the dirtbags, and we have all sorts of folks who completely retool their lives around this sport. I think the fully obsessed climber lifestyle is not well understood outside of this community.

I thought climbers would be particularly drawn to the idea of financial independence. At the time in late 2018, my wife and I were on the final stretch to full FI. I really wanted to share all I had learned, and I thought the best avenue was to preach directly to the climbing community. I didn’t necessarily want to be another voice in the personal finance world, which I believe can be an echo chamber at times.

The name clipping chains is a bit of a double entendre, without the sexual connotation. When rope climbers reach the top of a route, there’s usually a twin pair of chains that mark the permanent anchor. Therefore, a successful “send” is usually called “clipping the chains,” for slang. However, I also saw the methods of financial independence to be liberating and freeing. So, in a way, we also use these same tools to clip the chains of invisible barriers in our lives created through poor financial habits.

Man, I don’t know. In a way, I feel like I talk a lot about the same methods and hacks that we all mention (see echo chamber above). Where I feel I’m different is that I’m taking this directly to a community where money is a huge taboo, more so than almost anywhere in society. Climbers love to glorify simplicity, and so I’m taking the bold stance of talking about money as a means to a better life, not just to buy stuff. Climbers already understand that worthless junk doesn’t buy happiness. My goal for that community is to start a thought process around long-term thinking.

I also like telling stories. I’m really bothered by superficial listicles, like “six ways to save more money in 2021!” I hate that stuff. I want to intertwine the trials and tribulations of life. I want people to understand that life is built around a foundation of elements that bring contentment, not just shiny toys and an endless pursuit of the happiness carrot.

I feel like a lot of the FIRE community has an unwritten message of “get there and all of life’s problems are solved.” It’s simply not true. So, I want to be honest and write real reviews of life, rife with a full spectrum of emotions and at-times borderline inappropriate humor. I like metaphors and self-deprecating stances. I have no business being one of those FIRE writers that says, “behold, I am retired! Watch me wake at 5:30, ride my bike, do deadlifts, and grocery shop at noon while you are at your terrible job!”

I don’t believe in too many rules for my life. I hear from a lot of my readers who think that full financial independence is too big. That’s fine, I get that.

I believe in financial stability. If that’s a three months emergency fund, or 35 times your annual expenses, the beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What does financial stability mean to you?

I was too much of a coward to quit my corporate job without full financial independence, and it was cushioned at that. Someone else might have a bad day and quit with enough money for groceries next week and be highly satisfied with that decision (not CC recommended).

For another example, I sometimes feel like my wife felt better about our finances when we had less money! It seems ridiculous, but sometimes the crushing weight of what could be lost overshadows the bubbling hot tub of financial independence. All the sudden you become Gollum, intent on protecting the precious. It’s weird, man.

See, isn’t life so rich?!

Automation is key. The guiding light in my life is simplicity. Nothing gets me fooled up more than complicated strategies. As a climber, I like simple training methods. I believe the same simplicity ethos applies to finances.

First off, we track our spending. We do this old-school in an excel spreadsheet.

We spend almost exclusively on rewards credit cards. Later, in a pre-Covid world, we’d redeem those for fantastic trips. We’re piling rewards points as we speak.

In our working lives we set up automatic 401(k), HSA, and brokerage account investments each paycheck, or monthly. We invested nearly every dollar we didn’t spend, keeping a small cash cushion on the side. It was all automatic, set-it-and-forget-it strategies.

We used to check all of our accounts once a month. We did this manually. I really think it’s dangerous to get in the habit of checking your net worth hourly, daily, or even weekly. Sure, it’s motivating in good times. But when the poo hits the fan, the psychology of seeing your life savings erode like a Georgia red clay driveway can be a very motivating force…to make the wrong decision.

These days we mostly do nothing. We still track our spending, but we don’t check our net worth very often. Finances are easy once you get the ball rolling on automatic systems. Systems are the key, not goals.

These three would be great for people to check out:

In the short-term I always recommend getting some sort of cash buffer, or emergency fund. I feel that a three-to-six-month cash cushion is healthy for most people.

From there it’s investing any additional savings. My wife and I are lazy, so I prefer investing in passive index funds, heavy on equities with some bonds.

All of that is really not too complicated. I think the complicating factors are breaking down those old habits and mindsets around (a) can I make more money, and (b) can I potentially spend less money, and (c) can I get comfortable with keeping that money in an asset that carries some risk?

Someone who can rein in spending, increase income, and invest that income in something generating at least a 5% annualized return is going to be very happy with their long-term prospects.

The next phase is how to handle life once some sort of financial independence is achieved. I think far too much attention is paid to everything I just wrote above, so that’s why I didn’t answer this question for three days! There’s plenty of content about saving more and investing your savings.

I believe that far more introspection should be occurring on why we are pursuing financial independence. Why do we want a solid net worth? How will we use this incredible gift?. Perhaps the pandemic has taught folks that maybe time at home constantly with their families isn’t what they thought it would be. Maybe they actually like a little time at the office. I think a long, hard look at the elements of contentment for the individual will greatly inform the greater mission.

Truly understanding and questioning the “why” is swinging with the hips. The rest will follow.

Discovering a path to—and then achieving—financial independence might truly be my life’s work. Of course, as I’ve mentioned before, being FI is simply just the start of the next hill to climb.

That said, when the world started to seemingly fall apart around us back in March and April, I felt a sense of ease that I can’t really put into words. And frankly, I felt really guilty. People were sick, dying, and losing their jobs or livelihoods. Even though we watched our life savings fall by about 30% in a month, I felt very satisfied with our choice to embark on this journey. I wasn’t employed, but I never felt like running to get a job. I felt so incredibly content. I really don’t like to use the word happiness because I feel it’s a kind of fairy tale word, sort of like the rom-com of emotions.

I guess feeling financially solid in a major time of uncertainty is exactly why we pursued this journey, and I am content with that.

In terms of where life has suffered, I’d say we’ve been too eager to change too much, too soon. As soon as the first wave of the pandemic passed, we sold our home and hit the road in a small camper.

Adjusting to life on the road has been more difficult than we might have imagined. My wife was still working remotely, which was very challenging. She eventually resigned, which is a long story. Life has become much easier now that she’s no longer working!

My wife also isn’t a climber, so it’s easy for her to feel resentful of my time pursing the sport, and it’s easy for me to feel resentful that I’m not pursuing it enough! It’s challenging to have a solid and productive routine when your front door is always changing. Basically, the mistake we made is not having an end-game plan. It’s now trickier than we anticipated to transition from road back to home ownership, all the while trying to chase that endless fall weather across the country!

Don’t get me wrong: I love life on the road in small doses. My recommendation is to have a clear exit strategy before you go full homeless!

What are your favorite personal blogs and bloggers you have been inspired by?

In your opinion, what’s better? Renting a place or buying a house to live?

In your opinion, what’s better? Focusing on increasing your income, or focusing on decreasing your expenses?

What’s a non-money related interest you have and what do you love about it?

How You Can Contact Clipping Chains for More Information

Thank you for reading this interview, and thank you, Clipping Chains, for providing us with some great personal finance tips!