Hey Rebels! Let's dive into this week's issue to help you become smarter about money, investing, and business in less than 10 minutes a week.
Weekly Intel
Stay current with top news from the business, money, and investing world.
Top Stories
👻 Spirit gives up the ghost: After years of turbulence, budget airline Spirit told passengers not to bother heading to the airport—it’s officially grounded. The first major U.S. airline to fold in 25 years, apparently even their ultra-low fares couldn’t outrun sky-high fuel costs. What does this mean for our 5 am $10 tickets out of Denver, where they charge extra for a seatbelt? Find out more.
🪐 Occupy Mars: SpaceX has reportedly created a major compensation package for Elon Musk if he successfully colonizes Mars with the small goal of 1 million people (!!!) relocating to the Red Planet. Would you go? (more)
⛽ America’s exporting like crazy—so why are we still broke at the pump? Even with record oil exports, gas prices keep rising thanks to global pricing and a mismatch between what the U.S. drills and what its refineries can actually use. (more)
By the numbers
😰 17,000: The number of workers out of a job due to Spirit going out of business (more)
🤑 40%: The percentage of millionaires who live in the US—23,831,000 in 2024. (more)
5.2 million: How many barrels of crude oil the US exported per day in April, a new record. (more)
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The Financial Rebellion Way
Get Rich With Purpose—Not Just Portfolios
Making money without meaning is just expensive emptiness. The truly wealthy know a secret: giving isn’t something you do after you’re rich. It’s part of how you build wealth with purpose.
Your purpose-driven money blueprint:
Create a “Giving Account” TODAY: Automate $10-25 monthly. Call it “Impact Fund” or “Karma Account.” Watch how differently money feels when it has a mission beyond you.
Pick your rebellion: Local food bank, creator you love, cause that fires you up. Your money, your mission. Make it personal.
Good karma compounds too: What you send out comes back. Every generous person has stories of unexpected money showing up.
Big picture: Rich without purpose is just well-funded misery. Start building your giving habit now—not “when you have extra.” Because wealth isn’t just about stacking cash, it’s about stacking impact.
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 May 1, 2026:
▲ S&P 500 | 7,234 | +1.35% |
▲ NASDAQ | 25,169 | +2.21% |
▼ GOLD | 4,580 | -0.69% |
▼ SPIRIT (FLYYQ) | 0.18 | -89.16% |
▼ GAMESTOP (GME) | 24.71 | -2.43% |
▲ BITCOIN (BTC) | 80,228 | +5.86% |
▲ ETHEREUM (ETH) | 2,369 | +5.17% |
Stock and Crypto Moves
Market wrap: U.S. stocks continued their strong rally, with the S&P 500 extending a multi-week winning streak as optimism around earnings, AI momentum, and economic resilience pushes markets toward new highs. (more)
Bitcoin: Crypto’s sweetheart just had its best month in about a year, and analysts say whether it can keep rising (potentially toward $80K) depends on macro conditions, investor momentum, and typical strong May seasonality. (more)
NVIDIA: Stock splits (like NVIDIA’s past ones) increase share count while lowering price per share to improve accessibility, but don’t change the company’s underlying value. It also frames speculation around future splits as driven by Nvidia’s rapid price growth and investor demand. (more)
GameStop: Yes, GameStop is reportedly preparing a bold bid for eBay—despite being much smaller—as part of Ryan Cohen’s plan to transform the company, sending both stocks higher on the news. (more)
Estée Lauder: The beauty company’s stock surged after beating earnings and raising guidance, with aggressive job cuts (up to 10,000 roles) boosting profitability and signaling a potential turnaround. (more)
Real Money Moves
Each week, we feature a reader’s smartest and dumbest money moves. We’re all in this together; let’s learn from each other.
Rima, 24 - Tampa, Florida
Best Money Move - Investing in Experiences
“Over the last few years, I’ve worked to prioritize investing money or just spending money on experiences rather than things that are just going to sit there.”
“I feel like through meeting different people and experiencing new things, it’s so much more fulfilling than just acquiring something and just having it sit there.”
“So for me I think going forward, that’s something that I haven’t been doing as much, but I think the more I do, the better I feel about myself.”
Worst Money Move - Emotional spending
“I tend to justify expenses when I’m stressed or overwhelmed.”
“I convince myself that I deserve another overpriced drink or another dinner out with my friends or something like that.”
“Sometimes I think that when I’m in that emotional state, I try to make myself feel better by spending money. Maybe it does temporarily, but I don’t think that’s the best way to go about money.”
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.
Smart Hydration Hardware
What it is: Two University of South Florida (USF) engineering students, Mathis and Rima, created a device that clips onto any water bottle to track hydration—turning dehydration into a tech startup.
Mathis, also a soccer player, collapsed on the field freshman year from dehydration. “The hydration habits that I’ve been living by for 20 years growing up in Norway weren’t sufficient enough when we changed the climate.”
They didn’t reinvent the water bottle—they made every water bottle smart. Syp is an attachable puck at the bottom of a water bottle that measures how much water you drink. Sometimes the best product enhances what people already own.
Started with NCAA Division I athletics (175,000 athletes), planning to scale to military, healthcare, elderly care. It’s already being used by professional athletes around the world.
Big picture: While Silicon Valley chases the next app, Mathis and Rima went old school. They’re not asking people to change their habits or buy new bottles. Just clip on their device and suddenly you know exactly how hydrated you are. The lesson? Sometimes the best tech doesn’t replace what works—it makes what works work better.
Check out the Financial Rebellion podcast to learn about how to turn your passion into profit.
The Rebellion Challenge
Want to win some Rebellion gear?
Email us the answer to this question and enter to win Financial Rebellion swag!
If someone gave you one million dollars (post-tax, to all you accounting nerds out there), no strings attached, what is the first thing you would do with it?
Bank Like A Rebel
While big banks profit from your mistakes, credit unions invest in your financial education. Weird how doing the right thing is considered rebellious.
Do you know the myths about credit unions versus banks? Debunked here.
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We’ll catch you next week. Rebels OUT.
Todd Romer: Founder and Writer
Corinne Clarkson: Writer and Editor
Dallin Merrill: Chief Newsletter Overlord
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.