Expectations for EconoMe 2025 – Epic Financial Journey

TLDR

I’m both nervous and excited.

Where Are You Going?

For those who are unfamiliar with the EconoMe Conference, it is a gathering of ~500 attendees in Cincinnati, OH for a weekend of speakers, breakout sessions, community, and camaraderie all centered around Financial Independence. The founder of this event, Diania Merriam, even calls it a “party about money”. This is truly THE place to see and be seen in the FI world.

My Growing Comfort With Large FI Events

I had heard about FI gatherings such as EconoMe, CampFI, and Camp Mustache over the years and while each sounded interesting, I never thought I’d actually attend any of these events. It always seemed like these were for “other people” or that I might feel out of place traveling somewhere far away to hang out with a group of strangers for a weekend (which is the quintessential introvert’s nightmare!). I also felt like I already had a sufficient self-made community consisting of the numerous FI podcasts I listened to, the local ChooseFI groups I was part of, and the online interactions I had in the ChooseFI Facebook group.

So what changed? I had the opportunity to attend a CampFI in 2023 and my opinion of these gatherings was forever altered. To my surprise I met so many people that I easily connected with and had such a great experience overall that I was open to exploring additional FI events. A couple people I met told me that if I liked CampFI, then EconoMe was something I should check out – similar feeling of community, but a slightly different vibe due to a larger number of attendees and the conference-like agenda & setting.

I immediately started looking into the details of EconoMe and decided that I HAD to go. I’m not sure whether it was my obvious enthusiasm, an excellent sales pitch on my part, or just plain old FOMO, but both The Squire and my wife wanted to come along as well. I was so psyched to not only attend another FI event, but to do so with two of my best friends! I knew they were going to have a good time as well and I couldn’t wait for them to experience it.

Last Year’s Experience

Although I was excited for the event, I was also extremely nervous. From my positive experience at CampFI I knew EconoMe would turn out much the same, but because I am introverted and don’t prefer large group settings, I was still highly anxious.

Well, fast-forward to the end of that weekend and it turned out to be literally one of the best weekends I’ve ever had. I was tired & exhausted from all of the fun activities ranging from parties to informal hangouts to the scheduled event presentations themselves. All of it was overwhelming, yet comforting at the same time (if that even makes sense).

The best part was meeting so many new people from all over the country and even from different places in the world. Each encounter quickly evolved from an initial sense of fear (“oh no, I have to talk to a stranger”) into what felt like a conversation with an old friend (“oh wow, I have so much in common with this person”). What really drew me in was the variety of experiences everyone shared, both from a financial aspect as well as astonishing lifestyle choices people were making. I came away from most conversations with a sense of awe that people were actually doing so many cool things in life that I never even dreamed were possible.

Here We Go Again

When tickets went on sale for the 2025 event, my wife and I didn’t hesitate to purchase them, knowing that we definitely wanted to experience this magical, life-changing event again. (Well, technically we debated & waited 2 hours before we bought our tickets, but what pushed us over the edge was lunch with friends at a nearby Skyline Chili. From the moment we tasted that sweet, sweet Cincinnati delicacy we KNEW we had to come back to EconoMe).

Sidenote: I think Skyline Chili is a perfect analogy of the FI community. To most people this community may seem a little strange with many even thinking that “it sounds weird, why would you ever want that?” But if someone leads with an open-mind and genuinely gives it a chance, more often-than-not they find it’s something they like. Plus, FI does seem polarizing – most people either love it or hate it; there is no in-between.

What I’m Most Looking Forward To This Year

Community.

Plain and simple.

I’m looking forward to seeing old friends that I met at EconoMe last year or at other FI events. I can’t wait to catch up and hear how the past year has been, what goals or achievements everyone has accomplished, and also find out what new plans are in store for the future. I’m also hoping to make deeper connections since I’ll get to see many people that I already know and we’ll be able to bypass all of the superficial “get-to-know-you” type of small-talk and jump right into meaningful conversations.

While familiarity is certainly wonderful (and not to mention comforting), I’m also equally looking forward to meeting a LOT of new people. I want to learn about their past, where they currently are on their financial journeys, what cool things they may be up to in the world at the moment, and what their goals are for the future.

The one thing that’s really stood out to me about all of the FI events I’ve attended is that absolutely EVERYONE in this community has a distinctively unique story that is inspiring in one way or another – whether it’s overcoming daunting situations such as getting out of debt or doing amazing/non-traditional things that I’ve previously thought were impossible such as traveling the world, taking sabbaticals, etc. I absolutely love coming to these events to hear these stories because they are not only inspiring, but also because it’s real people doing these things, not just fairy tales or a nebulous voice heard on a podcast.

A Whole Group of Guinea Pigs

I know that referring to EconoMe attendees as “guinea pigs” doesn’t necessarily sound good, but hear me out…

While I was able to meet so many great people last year and everything turned out well, I felt that things could’ve been even better than they were. Although everyone was easy to talk to, it still took me a while to “come out of my shell” and start getting comfortable talking to strangers. And even then, a lot of the weekend was a blur so I have no idea how the quality of our conversations were – could’ve been great, could’ve been lacking… I dunno.

This year will be a good opportunity for me to consciously practice some of the social skills I’ve been trying to develop. In particular I’m hoping to work on a couple specific things that I’ve previously mentioned on the blog – listening to others and trying to keep the topic of “work” out of conversations.

I know it won’t be easy and I guarantee that I’ll naturally slip back into old tendencies from time-to-time, but I also know that this will be good for me. To use a sports analogy, I can start building up my “reps” now so that in the future I’ll be even better. Ultimately I hope that I’ll come away from the weekend a little less socially awkward.

What I’m Absolutely Dreading

People.

Wait, what?

Didn’t I just finish saying that community was what I was looking forward to the most? Yes, but…

Although I enjoy being around people who I am familiar with, I also don’t like strangers. I get anxious and I don’t do well in large crowds or even smaller groups of more than just a few people.

It’s not that I delight in feeling this way, but unfortunately it’s just the way I am and it’s the hapless reality that I have to live with. (For reference, I still get nervous attending my local ChooseFI group events and I’ve known many of those attendees for years!)

So I’m not necessarily sure what to do with this information except to document it here and hope that others can relate. Sometimes just knowing that others have the same emotions or are experiencing the same things can provide a level of solace. My aspiration is that one day I can overcome these feelings by continuously exposing myself to uncomfortable situations (and finding out that they almost always turn out okay). But to be honest, I’m not holding out much hope.

See Ya in Cincy

With expectations set, I’m just about ready to head out to Cincinnati for EconoMe 2025 with my wife. Unfortunately The Squire is unable to make it this year and I’m totally bummed. But with a family of his own and other obligations in life, I completely understand him not being able to make the journey this year.

But to everyone who will be in attendance, I look forward to seeing you again or even meeting some of you for the first time. I also can’t wait to hear about all the cool things you’re up to in life!

As Diania Merriam likes to say, ““Financial Independence is Better with Friends”… and I hope all of us leave the weekend with a whole new group of friends!

Secret Bonus

Well, perhaps a “not-so secret bonus” since I’m mentioning this right now… but for those who read about the One Year Anniversary of Epic Financial Journey you’ll remember that we debuted a new logo to celebrate. Even cooler than just the logo itself, I’m excited to announce that we now have matching stickers as well! I’m planning to personally hand these out at EconoMe (and perhaps even asking some of my friends to help hand them out as well).

So if you see these stickers floating around Cincinnati, please feel free to grab one… or two… or more… to help show your love & support of the blog.

Links/Resources

Reader Questions

Have you attended EconoMe (or any other FI event)? If so, what was your experience like and what are you looking forward to at future events?
Are you a fan of Skyline Chili?

Leave your answers or comments below – or email us directly at info@epicfinancialjourney.com