Hey Rebels! Done doing money the wrong way? Let's dive into this week's issue to help you change how you do money, investing and business in less than 10 minutes.
Weekly Intel
Stay current with top news from the business, money, and investing world.
Top Stories
🇨🇳 Cross your fingers: President Trump and China’s Xi Jinping are scheduled to meet this Thursday, and people are optimistic that they are both willing to compromise (more). I also have a meeting with China this week, though I am not sure my local Panda Express franchise will be interested in negotiating the price of my orange chicken.
🎢 Kelce flags down new investment: It has been a rollercoaster of a year for Travis Kelce, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end and, more importantly, Taylor Swift’s fiancé. Last week, he joined two corporate partners to invest in the struggling Six Flags (more).
🍎 Moneycrisp: The Honeycrisp apple has won America’s heart, but is this diva of an apple sustainable? (more).
By the numbers
💺 25%: how many more premium seats American Airlines is jamming into their planes, benefiting long legs and the stock market alike.
🥤 $4.3 trillion: How much U.S. brick-and-mortar stores earned last year from BEVERAGES. Like, literally just drinks. Trillions of dollars. Thirsty people out there.
📀 14%: the percentage of worldwide data centers in Northern Virginia, and last week’s major Amazon Web Services (AWS) outage exposed the fragility of the global internet infrastructure.
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The Financial Rebellion Way
Knowledge and action to help you achieve a life you desire.
It's not how much money you make, but how much money you keep, how hard it works for you, and how many generations you keep it for.
While everyone’s grinding for weekend cash, we found a side hustle that works while you sleep, vacation, or binge Netflix. No customers. No inventory. Just math doing what math does.
Your million-dollar example:
Dylan, 26
Starts investing $150/month in ETFs
Invests from age 26 - 65
Total $ invested: $72,000
At 65? Dylan has $1.7 million…
Cole, 18
Same $150 in boring ETFs
Invests from 18 - 26, then stops
Total $ invested: $14,400
…and Cole has a whopping $2.2 million
The brutal truth:
Cole invested $57,600 less than Dylan but has $500,000 more. That’s not a typo. That’s time and compound interest tag-teaming poverty into submission.
Big picture: The greatest side hustle isn’t another job. It’s making your money work harder than you do. While you’re debating cryptocurrency or chasing the next big thing, the stock market’s been reliably printing millionaires for a century. Set up autopilot investing, then go live your life. In 40 years, thank yourself for being boring. Boring builds wealth.
Markets - stocks and crypto
In under 3 minutes, start investing spare change, saving for retirement, earning more, spending smarter, and more.
Click the image above or this link to earn a special $40 bonus.
Prices for the week ending October 17, 2025:
▲ S&P 500 | 6,791 | +1.27% |
▲ NASDAQ | 23,205 | +1.49% |
▼ GOLD | 4,074 | -1.64% |
▲ FORD (F) | 13.84 | +20.24% |
▲ BEYOND MEAT (BYND) | 2.185 | +134.32% |
▲ BITCOIN (BTC) | 114,948 | +7.05% |
▲ ETHEREUM (ETH) | 3,939 | +1.5% |
Stock Moves
The standard is not poorer: A softer-than-expected inflation report results in the S&P 500 ending the week on a record high, with Ford, Google and (checks notes) Grindr? among top winners (more).
Phony meat, real earnings: Beyond Meat stock popped after selling a bit more fake meat than expected and winning a recent arbitration—though their profit margins were still disappointing, just like their product. (AITA: My husband ordered a Beyond Meat burger in front of our friends and family. Grounds for divorce?) (more).
Running on that hybrid power: Ford lost $1.4 billion on EVs last quarter (ouch), but Wall Street’s actually pumped because the company is ditching its all-electric dreams for a smarter play:
Pokémon cardshybrids (more).
Crypto Moves
Good news for crypto: Crypto inflows neared $1 billion last week as optimism grew for a potential US Federal Reserve rate cut after softer inflation data (more).
Great news for the Binance Bro: President Trump pardoned Binance founder and cryptocurrency leader Changpeng Zhao, who pled guilty in 2023 to enabling money laundering (more).
Decent news for Coinbase: Coinbase's stock (COIN) surged 5.5% after JPMorgan upgraded its rating, spotlighting fresh revenue potential from different initiatives (more).
Real Money Moves
Matt, 22 - Logan, Utah
Each week, we feature a reader’s smartest and dumbest money moves. We’re all in this together; let’s learn from each other.
Best Money Move - Investing in his business
“I spent a summer doing door-to-door sales, and I took that money and invested straight into my business.”
“I knew that S&P 500 it gets back 8%, maybe 10% a year…I thought I could probably get more than that if you’re starting your own thing and you’re confident with it.”
“I’ve been able to build a business that is generating income while I go back to school and get my education.”
Worst Money Move - Buying his truck
“The dumbest money move that I’ve made was probably buying a nicer truck than I should have.”
“It’s a nice truck, but it's definitely kind of stopped me from making other financial moves I would have liked to make.”
“Like I still enjoy it every day, but I mean, I could drive whatever.”
The bottom line: Every money move teaches you something — whether it builds your net worth or humbles your ego.
Got a story? Send it in. You might help someone dodge a mistake or make a smarter call.
Side Hustle Differently
Each week, we focus on money-making opportunities for a side hustle that could potentially become a full-time venture. No MLM schemes, no “passive income” lies, just real strategies for stacking cash outside your 9-5
Gotta Cash Them All
What it is: Matt and his brother turned childhood Pokémon nostalgia into a live-streaming business on TikTok, running QVC-style shows selling collectible cards to 165,000+ followers for 10-15 hours daily.
Your Pokémon profit blueprint:
The $800 Proof of Concept: First live stream, first sale — a stranger from New York dropped $800 on Pokémon cards. That’s when two door-to-door sales bros realized they could sell anything, including childhood memories wrapped in foil packs.
The Time Investment Reality Check: Started with 12-15-hour days in summer, now running two streams (10 hours and 5 hours daily) with hired streamers. Matt’s wisdom: “You can’t replace hours with anything else…the business will take all the time you give it and still want more.”
Taking care of their baby: Even returning to college, Matt still puts in 4-5 hours daily because “you've got to treat your business like a one-year-old baby—you can’t leave it alone.”
Big picture: Matt and his brother built a thriving TikTok live-streaming business selling Pokémon cards by combining their childhood passion with a serious work ethic. Their community isn’t just about cards; it’s people helping each other, giving away $50 cards just because someone needs it, showing that the best businesses create more than profit—they create connection.
Check out the Financial Rebellion podcast to learn about how to turn your passion into profit.
Word of the Week - Inflation
📈Inflation is the rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services rises over time, reducing the purchasing power of money. It’s typically measured as an annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or other price indices.
Trusted Partners
To be financially rebellious, where you bank is a big deal. We are big fans of credit unions to help you become financially rebellious. Here are some of our current partners that we work with around the country, so you can get to know them and the value of becoming a member to help you achieve your financial goals and dreams.
Did you know the myths about credit unions versus banks? Debunked here.
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Interested in becoming a Financial Rebellion Partner? Reach out to [email protected].
We’ll catch you next week. Rebels OUT.
Todd Romer: Founder and Writer
Corinne Clarkson: Writer and Editor
Dallin Merrill: Editor
Disclaimer: The advice provided in Financial Rebellion is not considered to be financial or legal advice of any kind. It is your responsibility to dig deeper on any opinions or recommendations given.