Writing
Explainers, methodology, and the occasional rant. Nothing paywalled. Nothing partisan. Just trying to make sense of the receipts.
This Month · September 22, 2026 · 7 min read
The Fed hiked rates on September 16th for the first time since 2023. Meanwhile the Middle East conflict is now in its sixth month, oil is back over $100, and the two are pointing at the same place — my grocery run and my next credit card statement. Here's the plain-English version of what actually happens next. No politics, just math.
Read →This Month · September 16, 2026 · 6 min read
Ellie's back-to-school list ran twenty percent higher than last August — so before I filed it away as normal, I sat down with the actual CPI report. Here's what the August release said, what the PPI is hinting at underneath, and what the momentum actually looks like when you strip the headline out.
Read →This Month · May 13, 2026 · 6 min read
The news led with two numbers and a pile of acronyms this week. Here's what that 3.5% CPI actually is, why the PPI line moved first, and what each one means at my gas pump and my grocery shelf — and yours.
Read →Explainer · May 11, 2026 · 7 min read
My daughter asked me why eggs cost more than they used to. I started to answer and realized I didn't really know. So I sat down and worked it out — here's the plain-English version, no economics degree required.
Read →Energy · May 1, 2026 · 5 min read
I griped about gas prices for years without ever doing the math. Then I actually ran the numbers on carpooling two days a week — and the answer was bigger than I expected. Here's the honest version.
Read →Groceries · April 18, 2026 · 5 min read
My son asked if eggs were 'a fancy food now.' They're not — but the reason a carton costs what it does is a story about a virus, a few enormous farms, and how fragile our food supply actually is.
Read →Methodology · April 5, 2026 · 4 min read
Two news sites, same day, same data — one said inflation was up, one said it was cooling. Both were right. Here's the short field guide I built for myself so I'd stop getting played by headlines.
Read →Analysis · March 22, 2026 · 5 min read
A college friend in Phoenix and I compared notes on prices and barely recognized each other's lives. The national inflation number is an average that hides a wild amount of variation. Here's the map.
Read →Action · March 8, 2026 · 5 min read
Jenna and I sat down one Sunday and went through every recurring bill we had. Some of the famous advice was useless. Some of it quietly saved us four figures. Here's the honest ranking, by dollars.
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