About Us

The EconoMe Conference

Diania Merriam, Chief Economeist

The EconoMe Conference is the only large-scale event specifically designed for the FIRE movement (financial independence, retire early). This 3 day party about money held in Cincinnati, OH is jam-packed with presentations, workshops, breakout sessions, and a slew of fun social activities.

Diania Merriam, the founder of EconoMe, was motivated to start a conference after the pursuit of FIRE changed her life. After she discovered blogs like Mr. Money Mustache and Frugalwoods, as well as books such as Your Money or Your Life and The Simple Path to Wealth, she used her newfound knowledge to get out of $30k of debt in 11 months and start saving/investing 60% of her income. She then negotiated a remote working relationship with her employer as well as a 2-month unpaid sabbatical to walk the Camino de Santiago (a 500-mile trek across northern Spain). Diania’s high savings rate allowed her to self-fund her own business and retire from her corporate career at 33 years old. She now helps others find community and inspiration on the path to financial freedom.

Diania has been featured on Business Insider, MarketWatch, Good Day Columbus, CNBC, WLWT5 as well as podcasts including Choose FI, Bigger Pockets Money, and Stacking Benjamins.


Listen to the Optimal Finance Daily Podcast!

Chief Economeist Diania Merriam is also the host of the Optimal Finance Daily podcast! This is a daily show where she reads to you from some of the best personal finance blogs on the planet, sometimes a little too enthusiastically, in 10 minutes or less. Optimal Finance Daily covers a broad range of topics from money mindset, saving, getting out of debt, frugality, investing, and so much more. It’s as if all these brilliant bloggers wrote these great songs, and Diania gets to perform the covers!

Just search Optimal Finance Daily wherever you get your podcasts, hit subscribe, and allow Diania to serenade you with the sweet sounds of personal finance knowledge.


Meet the EconoMe Team