Recap of EconoMe 2025
Chaos.
Absolute chaos.
But in the best way.
That’s how I would describe this past weekend at the EconoMe Conference. I guess that’s what’s to be expected though when ~500 “money nerds” or “FI-enthusiasts” all gather together in one location for a few days.
Beyond merely acknowledging the general pandemonium, I have my own distinct perspective of how the weekend unfolded for me personally and, spoiler alert, it was a little different than what I had expected…
Note: I want to preface this by explicitly stating up front that the event itself was well-run as usual. The entire agenda was well-organized and laid out beautifully with a host of mainstage speakers giving talks on a variety of topics ranging from real estate investing to food waste to book writing. There were also smaller “deep-dives” & “break-out sessions” on a potpourri of topics that provided a good mix of mindset/lifestyle design and technical knowledge. In addition to the more formal content there were structured community-building activities such as a group hike, game night, and even “speed friendshipping” (a unique way to meet almost 30 new people within a couple hours). Suffice it to say, there was something for everyone at this conference.
The Downward Spiral
While the event itself was excellent, something just felt different this year.
The weekend started out great. My wife & I arrived at the opening party on Thursday night, which was a brewery hangout where at least a couple hundred conference attendees were crammed in. Although full of anxiety walking through the door, I immediately felt 1000 times more comfortable than last year since I began to see a sea of familiar faces. It was fun to catch up with everyone and it felt like this was the start of an epic weekend that would be even better than last year!
But then Friday hit.
Friday’s agenda was dedicated to social activities which I expected to build on the great party from the previous evening. While it was still a good day and fun, it wasn’t as much fun as I had expected. I went back to the hotel room that night bewildered, thinking that maybe I was just tired or that it was taking slightly longer for me to ramp up into the weekend. I kept these feelings to myself thinking that I was the only one and not wanting to bring anyone else down.
Saturday came with a different flavor – more of a conference-vibe and agenda with mainstage speakers & smaller learning sessions. Although the speakers were excellent & engaging I once again ended the night bewildered because I still hadn’t experienced the same level of enthusiasm I was initially anticipating. This time I shared my thoughts with my wife and she actually acknowledged that she felt the exact same way.
Sunday’s conference agenda mirrored Saturday, so it’s probably not much of a surprise that my perception & outlook on Sunday mirrored my perception & outlook from the previous day. My wife felt the same. This is when we turned to our friends for their take to determine whether or not it was just us. Surprisingly (or maybe unsurprisingly) they also felt that something was different this year.
So what was going on?! Were we all just crazy or was there truly something peculiar happening? The strange thing is that none of us could really pinpoint exactly why we were feeling this way. I have a few hypotheses…
Hypothesis #1 – We Had A Different Crew
I had previously mentioned that The Squire was unable to attend, so from the very beginning it felt like a huge void. Last year’s “Three Amigos” turned into this year’s “Dynamic Duo”. While I love my wife & enjoy spending time with her, it’s just not quite the same as spending time with my blogging partner, especially at an event that is tailor-made for us!
Besides missing The Squire, a couple other good friends were also unable to attend. With all of the missing people, it just felt like a different dynamic. While I am open to change (especially at times when it can really push me forward in a positive manner), I honestly don’t like it. I feel most comfortable in a static & stable environment, knowing exactly what I can expect. So it was a huge bummer when these friends couldn’t attend this year because it led to more uncertainty which in turn led to more anxiety which in turn started my emotions to spiral downwards…
Hypothesis #2 – This Was a Rerun
Everything was new to us last year. Before attending for the first time in 2024 we had heard about EconoMe (mostly through podcasts & word-of-mouth), but obviously had never experienced it first-hand. As with most things in life, our imaginations ran wild and we had huge dreams and expectations of this so-called “party about money”. Then when we actually arrived at the event we participated in EVERY activity. Since it was our first time, we wanted to soak-in the ENTIRE experience, and we also didn’t know at the time if we’d be coming back in the future.
Fast-forward to a year later, and nothing was shiny & new anymore. Yes there was a different speaker lineup and many different attendees, but the entire structure of the event remained the same. Instead of acting like a kid in a candy store and wanting everything, we were way more selective. While this helped cut down on wasted time doing something we hadn’t previously enjoyed, I think it also unintentionally cut out some of the spontaneous moments (such as more chances to meet people, being invited to a meal/gathering, etc).
Hypothesis #3 – We Missed Our Kids
To be more specific, perhaps this should have read “we missed our kids’ ACTIVITIES”. Don’t get me wrong, we did miss the kids themselves, but with a 10 & 13 year-old it was actually nice to get away from the house for a few days. But perhaps what was on our mind more was the fact that we missed our kids’ activities.
Last year the only conflicting activity was missing my son’s flag football practice (which was even less painful since I was just an assistant coach). This year we missed so much more – my daughter had her last volleyball tournament while my son had his last basketball game & first football game of the season (and of course I’m the head coach this year).
So my wife & I felt bad the entire weekend that we were missing these important activities and felt like we had completely failed to live up to our obligation as parents. Although we had bought tickets for EconoMe 2025 a year ahead and there was no way to foresee our kids’ activities, we still felt guilty.
I had even thought briefly about cancelling & staying home until I remembered Jordan Grumet’s thoughts on this subject. Jordan challenges the narrative that parenting alone should provide lasting fulfillment. Children inevitably grow up & become self-reliant, leaving parents without the sense of purpose or identity tied to parenting. Instead, it’s actually beneficial for parents to pursue their own hobbies, interests, or passions and to demonstrate to their kids that it’s okay (and actually encouraged) to build a life outside of just family.
Hypothesis #4 – I Was Sick & Tired
100% literal. I started feeling sick a couple days before the event started and was dealing with a cold for most of the weekend. I had my ups & downs battling this sickness but there were many times I wanted to just go lay down, far away from all of the commotion. I fought through it though, knowing that this community was only gathered together for such a short period of time and I didn’t want to waste it.
I also slept horribly. Although the bed itself may have been in the upper echelon of all hotel beds that I’ve ever slept on, for some reason I couldn’t get a good night’s rest. I kept waking up every half hour to hour each night throughout the weekend. Perhaps it was due to excitement & anticipation or because I was afraid of missing my alarm and arriving late to the next day’s events. Add-in the fact that I was only getting about 5 – 6 hours of sleep each night, wanting to participate in as many activities as possible.
Compounded with being sick and not sleeping well, the time change just took me over the edge. I couldn’t shake the 3-hour time difference from home. If anyone saw me throughout the weekend I always had a coffee or energy drink in my hand with bags under my eyes.
Further Down the Spiral
As the weekend rolled on and continued to play out differently than my own expectations, I experienced a mini-existential crisis – I found myself questioning whether I was actually having fun attending the conference & hanging out with people or if I was just going through the motions to make it through the entire weekend and only still there since I had already paid for it.
This all came to a head within the last couple hours of the entire conference on Sunday afternoon. My wife was tired from the long weekend, so we decided to skip the final event and get some coffee instead. We walked out of the conference center into the pouring rain (of course) and found a nearby cafe.
Sitting in the cafe drenched & exhausted, looking outside the window at a cold & gray Cincinnati day, we felt pretty down on ourselves. We felt that attending two EconoMe Conferences was probably enough – we had given it a try, but maybe these types of FI events weren’t for us after all.
Although there was one last event that evening, a final party at a local brewery, we were seriously considering skipping it. Our thought was to pick up a quick dinner on the way back to the hotel room, so that we could get to bed early before flying home the next day.
But Wait, There’s More
But as fate would have it (and this is 100% serious), no more than 5 minutes after agreeing on the plan to just head back to the hotel early for the evening, my phone buzzed and I received this text from one of my friends…
“Head over to the pizza place by the Fairfield (hotel) in about 30 min or so”
Ugh. I didn’t want to go. The last thing I wanted to do was to see other people at the moment. I just wanted to get through the evening so I could head home the next day.
I was just about to text back and say “No thanks, we’re just going to hit up Panera on the way back to our hotel”, when I changed my mind. I thought that if we weren’t coming back to EconoMe ever again, we at least owed it to our friends to say goodbye in-person.
So a few minutes later we slowly started our walk towards the aforementioned pizza place…
The Denouement
Cold, wet, and not really even too hungry at the time, we were the first to arrive at the restaurant. We waited up front and when our friends arrived about 10 minutes later they asked the hostess for a table for 6. We thought it would be a small dinner for just 4 of us – my friend who texted and his girlfriend. So who else were we waiting for?
Well, not more than 5 minutes later one of our other good friends showed up, quickly followed by another close friend a few minutes after that. All of a sudden, my wife and I found ourselves amongst our 4 dearest friends at the conference. (We found out later that while we were at the coffee shop, they all coincidentally ran into each other and planned this impromptu dinner).
As if struck by lightning, my mood shifted instantly. It was a reminder of why I loved FI events so much – the opportunity to connect with cool & interesting people who share a common bond of Financial Independence. Not only is everyone in this community easy to talk to, but they are also genuinely nice & caring humans. THIS is what brought me here in the first place and THIS is what will keep me coming back.
The 6 of us proceeded to have the most wonderful dinner together with so many laughs and great conversation, creating fresh memories along the way. Afterwards we all went to the final party and once again I felt exactly like I had at the brewery on the very first night – full of optimism, joy, and a sense of community.
What It’s All About
Despite all of the ups & downs, I hope to retain this year’s experience in my mind as a way to keep everything in perspective and help me focus on what really matters – meeting new people, spending time with friends, and building relationships.
We already bought tickets for EconoMe 2026 and I cannot wait! As the great philosopher Arnold Schwarzenegger once said in the movie The Terminator… “I’ll be back”
Guinea Pig Update
For those who read my previous post about expectations for this year’s event, you may be wondering if I achieved any of my goals. (Quick recap – I wanted to practice my social skills & build deeper connections while specifically focusing on listening to others and keeping the topic of “work” out of conversations).
Well, let’s just say it was a mixed bag…
Due to the nature of the event, long-form conversations were almost impossible. As I had described at the very beginning of this post, it was absolute chaos. Because there were so many people and really a limited duration of time, it felt like I only had 4 or 5 minutes maximum to talk to someone before either myself or the other person got pulled away into a different conversation.
In one sense, I like this format because it allows me to meet a larger number & variety of people in such a short time. The downside of course, is that we can only get to know each other at a surface-level without diving in too deep. For beer aficionados, it’s like ordering a flight to test out multiple options instead of focusing on just one particular beer by ordering a pint.
In the rare instances over the weekend when I was actually able to talk to someone for more than just a few minutes, I did get a chance to practice my listening skills. It was great because I wasn’t listening for just pure facts to be regurgitated at a later date; instead I was really trying to learn more about the person and understand who they were and what was going on in their life. I still have a ways to go with developing this skill, but definitely a good opportunity to practice.
As far as not talking about work… that one was a little more tricky. Because most of us were talking about where we were on our FI journeys, work was an ingrained/critical part of the conversation. Yes, I was able to talk to many people about their goals & plans for the future after FI/retirement, but talking about work was necessary especially when leaving a job was all part of their journey. On the plus side, I personally rarely brought up work unless absolutely necessary. I never led with his topic when first engaging in a conversation, but I noticed that many others did, particularly those who were still working – very interesting observation.
Missed Connections
And finally, my apologies to all of those who I was unable to meet this past weekend – I regret it and hope that we can connect sometime in the near future. We are all in this Financial Independence community together and all have unique money journeys & stories – I truly want to get to know you and hear your story.
Links/Resources
Reader Questions
- Did you attend EconoMe 2025? If so, what was your experience like – did you feel the same as me or have a different perspective?
Leave your answers or comments below – or email us directly at info@epicfinancialjourney.com