I recently had the pleasure of meeting Ben Miller, the founder of ChroniFI.
Without giving away too many details of our interview, Ben is a former Wall Street trader. But his time on Wall Street made him think differently about money. Money, Ben discovered, is all about time.
So Ben decided to create an online tool that lets user track money not in dollars and cents, but in years and days.
Enter ChroniFI. I’ll let Ben explain it from here…
Ben! Tell us – who the heck are you?
I spent my first 8 years out of college working a job that was highly paid, but not fulfilling (Wall Street/Finance/NYC).
I started out with the goal of piling up enough money to never work again. But then I realized that “never working again” was not my route to happiness. Productive labor is necessary for my life satisfaction.
So I ran the numbers and discovered that my investments could support me for a long time, especially if I found a “labor of love” to work on for additional income.
I decided it was time. I quit my Wall Street job and started ChroniFI.
Tell us a bit about ChroniFI?
ChroniFI is personal finance software that simplifies your finances by understanding them in terms of time instead of money.
It boils everything down to a couple key numbers:
- how long you can afford to be financially independent right now
- how long until you reach full financial independence.
For example, ChroniFI might tell you that you have 9 years of financial independence right now. And that you have 8 more years until you reach full financial independence.
With that information in hand, you can plan a path to FI that you can enjoy along the way, and track your progress toward your ideal life.
Who is ChroniFI for? And what big problem is it solving?
ChroniFI is for anyone who is interested in financial independence. It’s a way for people who dream of living differently to make concrete steps towards their new lives. It is particularly well-suited to those who are earning more money than they need to spend right now.
The problem we are solving is two-fold.
First, while FIRE is exciting at the start and exciting at the end when you’re about to pull the retirement ripcord, the boring middle can suck. (Sounds a lot like “the Valley of Drudgery” to me! -Jesse)
When you’re grinding to get to your FI number, you’re at risk of burning out. If you don’t like your job, you run the risk of saving too aggressively and thereby making yourself miserable at home because you’re miserable at work, and you wind up miserable all the time.
ChroniFI arms you with the knowledge you need to make the right choices. It helps you hit the sweet spot between saving too little and saving too much.
Second, we’re addressing a gap in the market: existing apps treat the past well (YNAB/Mint) and the future well (Personal Capital/Wealthfront), but ChroniFI hits you where it matters most: in the present.
We focus on helping you answer the key question, “What does my financial situation mean for my life as a whole?” Others apps/software only focus on budgeting or investing.
When you add the dynamic tracking of progress to the mix, you get a clear picture of where things are and how they’re trending. That gives you the confidence to make the changes you need to make.
How are the benefits worth the cost? Will I save time? Will I save money? What do I gain as a user?
I used to be the weirdo waking myself up for the day by scrolling through Mint (the budgeting app), trying to convince myself that everything was going to be okay.
With ChroniFI, I get more clarity. I get the confidence that I can check in twice a month and be fine. That frees up my mind and my time for other more productive activities.
Additionally, people can feel trapped in their careers because they don’t feel financially safe enough to change jobs. ChroniFI boils down that uncertain situation to clear simplicity. With that simplicity, you gain the confidence to make the right choice for yourself.
Too cool. How can I sign up?!
Head on over to chronifi.com and there’s a free trial waiting for you!
Thanks to Ben Miller for creating ChroniFI and sharing it with The Best Interest audience. Head on over to ChroniFI and give the free trial a spin!
Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this article, join 8000+ subscribers who read my 2-minute weekly email, where I send you links to the smartest financial content I find online every week.
-Jesse
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