EP 20: Chad Andrews — Financial Independence, Building a Craft, and Pursuing Your Best Life

Chad Andrews is the maker of the Clipping Chains blog—a resource to help climbers navigate personal finance and move towards financial independence. We talked about reaching retirement at age 35, simple steps to reduce your cost of living, why financial strength equals freedom, the joy of building a craft, and pursuing your best life.  

Support on Patreon:

patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing  

Show Notes:  

http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/chad-andrews  

Nuggets:  

3:03 – ‘Snickers’ the stealthy food thief  

7:34 – Chad’s early career in Houston, staring climbing, moving to the front range, and becoming interested in the financial independence movement  

14:59 – The F.I.R.E. movement (Financially Independence Retire Early) and Chad’s path to financial independence  

16:09 – Why Chad would never call himself retired, and why he thinks work is a fundamental aspect of happiness  

17:10 – The Clipping Chains blog and sharing personal finance information with climbers  

18:51 – Overview of the financial independence concept (maximize savings rate, and invest in a passive index fund)  

24:31 – Chad and his wife’s income, teachers, and why the financial independence movement isn’t just for those with a high income   

26:39 – Tracking spending using an app or spreadsheet  

31:19 – The big three: housing, transportation, and food  

33:51 – Chad’s passion for food, cutting back out dining out, rediscovering cooking, and learning new skills  

36:32 – Facing discomfort, Chuck and Maggie Odette, the “year of austerity”, and paying less for the same experience  

38:44 – Why financial strength is a sliding scale, and the freedom of having a little extra money saved  

43:52 – Chad’s climbing trip to Ceuse during the “year of austerity”  

45:39 – Pareto principle (80/20), and why Chad doesn’t feel like he and his wife had to sacrifice much to reach their financial goals  

48:56 – How having a few months of living expenses saved up can give you the freedom to tinker and try new things  

50:53 – The first two steps that everyone should take toward financial strength  

56:23 – Scheduling your day, habits, and systems  

1:01:52 – Tracking net worth as a measure of progress  

1:05:13 – Housing as the #1 expense, and tips for reducing housing cost  

1:09:41 – Tips for renters and why buying a house isn’t necessarily as good an investment as people think  

1:12:45 – Takeaways from interviews with top climbers, and embracing a non-normal life  

1:19:39 – Hard work, happiness, and honing a craft  

1:26:09 – Chad’s current climbing, focusing on movement and bouldering, and the benefits of filming yourself  

1:32:35 – Where Chad is most excited to climb after COVID, focusing on climbs he can do in 10 tries, and the role of mega projects  

1:36:05 – Retiring just before COVID, and my (Steven’s) plans for Rifle  

1:38:12 – Roasted peppers, Lemoncello, and comfort food  

1:44:26 – Favorite books  

1:47:36 – Gratitude  

1:48:25 – Clipping chains website, Instagram, Twitter