FinCon

Hey debt fighters! I hope this election season, you’ll be rocking the vote. Nevermind that it’s a political circus.

However, you can rock the vote before November. If you’re a lover of all things personal finance, you can vote for your favorite bloggers, podcasters, authors, writers and more with the Plutus award.

I won Best Debt blog last year, which was amazing! And you know what? My publisher for my book (which will be released soon — check my Instagram) contacted me the day after I won and said they found me through my blog and the Plutus awards. So, this isn’t “just an award”. It could lead to opportunities!

I’m also on the voting panel this year and want to see some amazing things happen for others this year! You have until August 15th to vote! You don’t have to be a blogger to vote, so don’t let that intimidate you. Here’s the link for voting.

Secondly, I wanted to let you know that FinCon is offering a scholarship! FinCon is the financial bloggers conference that pretty much changed my life. I quit my job in July 2014 and went to FinCon in September 2014. I’ve gotten so many clients from FinCon and have made such important friendships.

If you’re a new blogger (January 2015 or later) and you haven’t registered to attend FinCon, apply for a scholarship by August 15. I’d love to see you there! Apply here. 

Anyway, wanted to share these opportunities, but expect cool updates from me soon!

For the past week, I’ve been trying to recover from the Financial Bloggers Conference, aka FinCon. I came back last Sunday with absolutely no voice and throbbing feet from several nights on the dance floor.

I know I mentioned that last year was a dream come true, but this year was ten times better.

Last year, I had just quit my job and didn’t really know what I was doing. I felt like the new kid on the block, just soaking everything in. I had a blast then, too and did my fair share of networking — most of which elevated my career this past year.

This year? I wasn’t necessarily looking for work, I WAS working. My colleague Tonya Rapley and I hosted two awesome events at FinCon with financial brands that I LOVE. We’ve been working behind-the-scenes for months to make these events happen and it felt so good to see the fruits of our labor pay off.

Right before FinCon started, we hosted a lovely Women and Money Tea sponsored by Fidelity. Imagine a room of 30 powerful and engaging women talking about money in an intimate setting. It was so great to sit down with people I admire and talk candidly about our relationship to money and our unique struggles.

FinCon could have ended there and I’d be happy. Everything about that event was simply perfect and I cried happy tears afterward.

The next day we also hosted an event with SoFi, pretty much the coolest student loan refinancing company around. We invited everyone to hang out and bowl. I’m proud to announce I’m still a terrible bowler, but a good time was had by all.

On Saturday, the happy hour crew recorded Martinis and Your Money live and I shared my most embarrassing money mistake. It was so great to connect with all the ladies in-person.

THEN, Saturday night blew my mind even more. This little blog of mine WON best debt-focused blog! I ran up there, jumping up and down like a crazy person. I was so excited. Thank you to all my readers and those that voted. You rock.

Dear Debt is my baby. Dear Debt, in many ways, was a lifesaver for me. In that moment of winning, I felt like everything I’ve worked hard for did matter. It’s nice to have those moments where you feel like other people get what you are trying to do.

Then I kept screaming like a crazy person because Shannon won best podcast, Tonya won best video, Jason won best collaborative project for Road to Financial Wellness (which I coordinated the blog tour and several in-person events for) and more.

Aside from the events, the podcast, and the award, I did attend some sessions that were really inspiring. In addition, I networked my face off and met with as many people as I could.

But the absolute best part of FinCon? The people. Last year I met Shannon for the first time and we were insta-BFFs. This year we were roommates and oh man it was like we were in college. We shared our dreams, our struggles, and our goals for the future (and stayed out way too late). And I’m so proud to call her a friend and colleague.

I loved seeing Erin from Journey to Saving again and catching up about our crazy freelance journey. I enjoyed meeting my debt accountability partner, Even Steven Money, who is always making sure I’m working hard to pay off that debt. I loved meeting the ladies at Payoff in person. I had a great time meeting some of my clients for the first time.

There are simply too many people to name, but I had an outstanding time reconnecting with old friends and meeting new ones. As an extrovert, FinCon gave me SO MUCH LIFE.

I’m a die-hard FinCon fan and you bet your bottom dollar that I’ll be in San Diego next year for #FinCon16. Will I see you there?

Were you at FinCon15? What was your experience? Did we meet? If so, say hi!

Fidelity photos by Joshua Galloway

Hey party people! I hope you’re having a great Labor Day and actually relaxing a bit 😉 Don’t worry, I’m only working a half-day!

I wanted to write a quick post, because I’m so excited about FinCon in a couple of weeks! For those of you that don’t know, FinCon is a financial bloggers conference. Pretty much everyone in personal finance — bloggers, journalists, companies, startups, etc. — will be in attendance.

I’ll be there and I’m so freaking excited. Last year was a dream come true, but I actually think this year will be even better.

Why? I’m co-hosting some awesome events that I’m so jazzed about. My last job was as an events and communications coordinator, so it’s so cool to be doing some of that still, but with financial brands.

If you’re going to FinCon, feel free to join us for the SoFi bowling happy hour on Friday, the 18th from 5pm – 7pm. Yes, I know it’s during the last session of the day and there are a million other events going on. But, we’re going to have a blast. End of story.

Also, I’m absolutely flabbergasted. I’ve been nominated for not one, but two Plutus Awards for best debt blog and best freelancer! Say what?!?! Of course I was hoping for best debt blog, but thought best freelancer wouldn’t even be in the realm of possibilities.

So imagine how surprised I was to find out I was nominated! I don’t know who nominated me, but thank you. I’ve put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this blog and my writing for other sites. I have a specific goal: make personal finance actually engaging and relatable for the majority of people. Because, let’s be frank, personal finance can be a major snoozefest.

So thank you to anyone past or present who has supported me and this blog. I love ya! Virtual hugs.

Lastly, this goes out to my blogger friends. I’m fortunate to be in a position right now where people are coming to me looking for help. Unfortunately, I’m only one person and can’t do everything myself, so I’d love to know what you do, what services you offer, so if there’s ever an opportunity in my inbox that I can’t take or I’m not right for, I can share the love and hook you up.

I know my freelance career started simply because of the generosity of friends and referrals. If I can, I’d like to pay it forward. Please note, this is not working for me, but I’d refer you to others who are looking for writers, VAs, editors, etc. In the comments, let me know what you do.

One of my favorite things about having a blog is creating a community. I love inspiring people to get out of debt and getting people to talk about money. But I also want to help other people succeed personally and professionally as much as I can. So, let me know what you’re good at and let’s help each other!

Have a great Labor Day everyone! I hope to see you at FinCon. For non-bloggers, I’ll write an awesome recap to share all the debauchery events.

Source: Giphy/ billboardmusicawards.com

One of my main goals this year was to go to FinCon. I wasn’t sure how I would get there, but I was determined. A few months later, I felt doubtful and confused and wrote the post, Should Debt Bloggers Go to FinCon?

If my message is to get out of debt, how could I justify it?

Well, two things happened that made FinCon absolutely worth it for me:

1. I started freelancing more, and eventually quit my job. FinCon would be a networking dream.
2. I got a unique opportunity to partner with a company and host a special event (more on that later).

So let’s give you a rundown on everything that happened:

Tuesday:

I flew into New Orleans and it’s balmy and grey. It felt like a humid Portland, at least weather wise. I checked into the hotel and sighed with relief.

I made it, I thought.

Knowing that my online pal Shannon had already arrived, I texted her so we could explore the town.

We hit it off instantly! The one nerve-wracking thing about meeting people in person is, what if you just don’t click? I have to say that didn’t happen at all with anyone, but Shannon and I were like insta BFFs. We went to a dive bar called Sneaky Pete’s and were talking and catching up. We strolled through Bourbon street and got a greasy, yet delicious slice of pizza. While we there we were totally suckered into getting a large daiquiri and jello shots (don’t judge).

After that, we saw some live music, and hung out with PT and the gang for a pre-camp party.

Bedtime: 1:30am

Wednesday:

I woke up bright and early because I wanted to get my hands on those hot little beignets at Café Du Monde, before FinCon camp started. The walk was nice – I got to see the old streets and cultural influences of New Orleans. I had some delicious beignets and a café au lait.

Honestly, a city hasn’t pierced my heart as much as New Orleans since New York. I just loved it there and you can really feel the heart and soul of the city.

I got back to the hotel and we started camp! Camp was great because I could get to know a small group of 75 people, before the other 500 people showed up on Thursday. There was a great session on writing, SEO, and making money.

But let’s be real. My absolute favorite part of the first day was the karaoke party! I told you all that I LOVE karaoke.

I sang 4 songs and sung my little heart out. What did I sing?

The Nearness of You by Norah Jones

Just a Girl by No Doubt

Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen

Midnight Train to Georgia by Gladys Night

Tom Drake from Canadian Finance Blog told me that it was like watching a play when I performed Bohemian Rhapsody. Best compliment ever! Tom, who was the KJ, asked me to sing another song as it was slow, but I wasn’t sure what to do. I had exhausted all my “go-to” songs. Then I decided on Midnight Train to Georgia. Holy whoa was that fun! I got really into it and I think I found my new song.

Then we all headed back to the hotel to party some more. At this point, I’m realizing that personal finance bloggers are not nerds, but intense partiers in disguise. Or at least that’s what being in NOLA and being at FinCon will do to you.

Bedtime: 2am

Thursday:

Finished up camp and was interviewed by the ReadyForZero team for their podcast, which was so freakin’ awesome. I love them! Then went on a brewery/cocktail tour! My favorite was the Carousel bar, which was so darn classy and lovely. I also got to meet Michelle from The Shop My Closet Project, Erin from Broke Millennial, Stefanie from the The Broke and Beautiful Life and Cat from Budget Blonde and so many others (including J. Money heyyyyy). It was so awesome to meet everyone in person.

That night we went to Ignite, but it was so loud that I could barely hear. I cut out early and then had some fun conversation with JD and Shannon in the lobby.

Bedtime: 1:30am

Friday:

I was magically able to wake up in time for the keynote speech by Jeff Goins. And I’m so glad I did! He talked about doing the work of a dream and building a bridge between where we are now and where we want to go. It’s easy to reach a goal and stop dreaming, but we have to let our dreams evolve. Jeff was magical and was officially my first FinCon crush.

I then got my network on at the Freelancer’s Marketplace, and went to a session about the Power of Stories and How to Create a Thriving Community.

One of the main quotes that stuck out for me was from JD Roth, “Everything is in service of the reader.”

I want to make Dear Debt a great place for you, the readers. So please let me know if you have any feedback. I got some great feedback from the survey a while back, but I’m open any time to chat.

After the sessions, I got to meet the whole Careful Cents team, including Kali, Cat, and Erin! It was a great time to connect — I simply adore these ladies.

Then I got all gussied up to host a very special dinner! In partnership with Perfect Circle® Jewelry Insurance by Jewelers Mutual I co-hosted a dinner with Tonya from My Fab Finance and Farnoosh Torabi! We invited some of my favorite bloggers and had a blast.

We started off taking a trolley tour of New Orleans, which I am eternally grateful for. I hardly left the hotel at that point, so it was nice to see parts of the city I wouldn’t otherwise see. This is where my heart started to swell again, just falling deeper in love with New Orleans.

After the tour, we arrived at NOLA, i.e. Emeril Lagasse’s awesome restaurant. BAM! It was amazingly delicious. Farnoosh shared her top tips for financial wellness, including protecting the things we don’t often think of, like jewelry.

This dinner was the absolute highlight of my trip. We had planned for months to make it an awesome experience for everyone involved and I think it was great. I got to have a nice dinner with some of my favorite old and new friends AND got to meet one of my inspirations, Farnoosh Torabi. In case you don’t know, she was the keynote speaker and also is the author of When She Makes More, a book about being a female breadwinner. I’m so excited to read the book, as I am also a female breadwinner.

After the dinner, I was spent. I went for a short walk and caught up with some other bloggers for yet another trip to Café du Monde. I then went to bed “early” as I knew Saturday, the last night would be crazy.

Bedtime: 1am

Saturday:

I attended the Freelancer’s session A Better Way To Work, and also the How to Make Editors Fall in Love with Your Work. My girl Carrie did an amazing job at the first session! The second session with the editors was so invaluable for me.

I then went to sessions about an Auto Responder Sequence (email marketing) as I really need to kick it into gear and get started with an email list, which was followed by LaTisha’s talk on how to supercharge your brand with video. Video is something I’m curious about integrating into my work – mostly so you all can experience for yourself just how silly I can be.

Then it was time for the Plutus Awards! I sadly didn’t win Best Debt Blog, but I was happy to be nominated. I was so happy that my friends Laurie and Cat did win though!

Right after the awards, I had dinner with the awesome folks from PenFed. They are such a great, awesome group of people and have a ton of great promotions going on. We had a delectable meal and some yummy drinks.

After the dinner, we headed to the final party on Bourbon street. I arrived and my senses were overloaded. It was straight up club status in there. Like people dancing on stage, drinks everywhere, and people having a REAL GOOD TIME.

After getting oriented to my now high-energy environment, I got a drink and got down with my bad self. I had so much fun dancing! Like, too much fun.

Seriously, if you could see that party…but what happens in New Orleans, stays in New Orleans. But damn it was a good time.

Bedtime: 4am

Sunday:

I set my alarm for 10am thinking 6 hours would be “sleeping in” at this point, but somehow I woke right up at 8am. Ugh. My legs were so sore and my voice was hoarse. I hung out with some cool bloggers in the lobby for a while, then decided I needed some me time. As extroverted as I am, I just needed some time to chill, so I walked to the French Market and just walked around, which is one of my favorite things to do in any new city. I had lunch by myself, and then caught up with Shannon yet again for a last day adventure.

She let me know that the Palace Café had bananas foster beignets. I had mentioned the whole week that I really wanted bananas foster. So I met her there and ordered them. Then we realized that they actually had the REAL bananas foster, so we ordered that too. Shannon, as baller as she is, wanted to celebrate our newfound friendship and awesomeness, so we got some champagne.

After a few hours, we had to head back to the airport, so we got our to-go cups and took the rest of the champagne (New Orleans has an open container policy where you can drink on the street!!). We booked a shuttle, which was over 30 minutes late, so ended up taking a taxi instead. Luckily, the shuttle is refunding my money.

Then I slept on both flights. I kept waking up though, excited and full of ideas.

Now I’m back and so re-energized and happy! Meeting everyone in person and solidifying these online relationships was 100% worth everything to me. I learned a lot, got out of my comfort zone, partied, made new friends, and connected with old ones.

I can’t believe my first FinCon was this awesome; a dream come true, really.

I loved it so much, I bought my early bird ticket for next year.

I found my family – a bunch of money loving nerds who DEFINITELY know how to party.

See you next year?

Whoa. I guess this is really happening. I am going to FinCon. It’s been a wild few weeks of ups and downs, thoughts and worries and I honestly thought I wasn’t going anywhere this year. A few weeks ago, I wrote Should debt bloggers go to FinCon?, a post in which I was debating if I should go and spend the money — and talking about my goal of going to Iceland for my 30th birthday.

Then I realized I owed some money to the IRS. Even though it’s a small amount, this prompted many discussions about my financial reality and what I could actually afford this year. And even though we aren’t technically married, and we have separate finances, I had to also consider the financial reality of my partner. He’s a musician, with a highly fluctuating schedule and income. After really looking at the numbers, I realized we couldn’t afford Iceland this year. Yes, it’s only $679 to get there, with the music pass for the festival. BUT I would still need to get to Seattle, get a hotel and have spending money. Iceland is not cheap and it would be generous to say we could spend $100 a day. Given the time frame of the music festival in Iceland, and the flights available, we’d need to stay at least a week. That would be at least another $700 to save. In addition, my partner doesn’t have vacation time, and I don’t know if I would have that much time by then also. This means we’d need to actually save for the loss of income as well.
In short, we weren’t financially prepared for this at all. It was a pipe dream I thought I could turn into reality, but the money wasn’t there. I wasn’t willing to significantly lower my debt payments to make this happen. I couldn’t justify putting my partner in that situation, nor could I afford to support him if he ran out of money.

So for a milli second, I had my own pity party because I thought I wasn’t going to Iceland and Fincon. Those were the 2 goals I was most excited about for this year. I felt deflated, and embarrassed that I was even sad about it (hello firstworldproblems).

Then a few days ago, my mom texted me:

I really think if you want to further your blog and your writing, you should go to FinCon. I can help.

I ignored the text for a little while. I couldn’t get help from her. So I called her and we chatted, and she really WANTED to do it. She was borderline pressuring me. I have to say I think my mom is my biggest fan and is always telling me how much she enjoys my writing and how proud she is of me. And to think I almost kept my blog a secret from her! So I accepted her generous offer.

My parents couldn’t afford to help me out with college, but they have been so generous and supportive in a lot of other ways. I am their only child and they put a lot of love and energy towards me. I knew if she covered the $200 ticket (before prices go up to $250!), that I could probably travel hack my way to a free flight (this will be my first venture into this!), and could use side hustle income for spending. I will also split a hotel room with someone to save on money. I am going to make this work in the most frugal way I can, while also furthering my blog, and writing dreams. I realized that the cost of FinCon and Iceland weren’t comparable. Iceland would be a crazy awesome experience, but financially it would be much more than we have available at the moment. FinCon will further my goals, and will be relatively inexpensive with this help and hopefully a free flight.

Are you going to FinCon? If so, introduce yourself. Let’s “meet” before we meet.

Lastly, I might be a little MIA this weekend on the blog front. I will be reading your blogs/comments/tweets, etc but will be hustling my booty off this weekend.

I’m working an additional 24 hours in 2.5 days. Even though I said I wasn’t going to work 7 days a week anymore after this post, this situation arose where I accepted a gig, then got offered another gig and didn’t want to turn it down. So I just need to survive this crazy weekend!

I am working tonight from 9pm – 3am at my crazy mini golf adventure, then tomorrow working as a brand ambassador from 10am – 8pm, then Sunday doing the same thing from 10am – 6pm. I am tired just thinking about it. I am really not looking forward to working a 10-hour shift on 5 hours of sleep. But I know this is temporary, and I am going back to working 6 days a week after this. The money made from this weekend will be pretty good, so I need to remember why I am doing this.

All of this work includes talking to people, while standing on my feet, so it requires a lot of energy. I will most likely come home, take a bath, go to sleep and not talk to anyone, haha. As an extrovert, this work is good for me, but even I have my limits 😉 I see myself getting more introverted as I get older which is weird. Which brings me back to wanting to pursue freelance writing and trying to stay home more!

That’s my update! What’s new with you? Any fun plans for the weekend to share? I want to live vicariously through you!