Chris

Recently, I’ve been having many conversations about the use of contactless payments, or Apple Pay. I was asked how secure it is while on vacation. Then it came up at my in-person FI meetup group. And most recently at a business networking event. I then asked the group, “Who uses Apple Pay?” and it’s like … Read more

So here’s something you don’t hear every day. A bankrupt airline that most Americans loved to complain about shut down at 3 AM on May 2, 2026, and within hours, a 32-year-old TikTocker had rallied hundreds of millions of dollars in pledges to bring it back from the dead! What in the actual F! This … Read more

This past week I was traveling to Miami, Florida and boarded the Norwegian Joy cruise ship for the Monsters of Rock Cruise. This was my very first MORC cruise, and it was awesome hanging with so many other rockers! We talk a lot about finding your tribe and being part of community and why this … Read more

Look, I want to say I’m shocked. I really do. But when a federal jury officially rules that Live Nation and Ticketmaster operated as an illegal monopoly and were overcharging fans for years, the only surprising part is that it took this long! If you’ve bought a concert ticket, lets say in the last decade, … Read more

I think budgeting kinda has a reputation problem. Like if you mention the word “budget” to most people and you get a look like you just suggested they give up coffee, cancel their streaming services, and move into a van. It totally sounds like restriction. Like punishment. Like the financial version of eating those styrofoam … Read more

So, if you know anything about the FIRE (financial independence/retire early) community, they are totally and absolutely at an elite-level at optimizing, right? We know our savings rate to the decimal. We’ve debated lean FIRE vs. fat FIRE vs. barista FIRE at a dinner table while those “normal” people talked about the game. Most of … Read more

The FIRE (Financial Independence/Retire Early) community can absolutely crush it when it comes to the accumulation game. Savings rates? They got that dialed in. Index funds? You bet, it’s boring and beautiful. FI number calculations? C’mon! People in this community have spreadsheets with 27 linked tabs for that stuff. But here’s what I’ve noticed after … Read more

I’ve been coming to the EconoMe Conference for the past few years. And there is always a session, discussion or connection that kinda catches me off guard. Ya know? You walk in to a talk or session expecting to talk about those nerdy money stuff like withdrawal rates, savings percentages, and index fund allocations. Sure … Read more

I want to tell you about a room full of people who all raised their hand at 9 a.m. when asked if they have money in the stock market. That was the scene at the 2026 EconoMe Conference in Cincinnati. A few hundred money and personal finance nerds, some still desperately clutching their morning coffee … Read more

There’s a specific kind of person who shows up at the EconoMe Conference. These are the people that read tons of blog posts and finance articles. They’ve also listened to hundreds of podcast episodes. You can bet these people have optimized their savings rate to levels that make their coworkers totally uncomfortable. These rockstars have … Read more