The night before the 2016 Financial Blogger Conference began, members of the public were invited to a free program called “The Money Meetup.” This evening of short inspirational speeches plus a meet-and-greet with personal finance folks was very well received. I hoped that this would become an annual event.

Conference founder Phil Taylor has expanded the public reception into an eight-hour event called “Your Money, Live!” It will take place beginning at 1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27 at the Sheraton Dallas Hotel – during FinCon17, rather than the night before.

In other words, you’ll probably run into a lot of people whose work you read and/or listen to regularly. (Including me, I hope.)

“Your Money, Live!” attendees can attend their choice of four workshops (more on that in a minute), listen to money experts (including keynote speaker David Bach), and attend the Ignite FinCon event, which is TEDx style speaking followed by a networking party where you can meet personal finance writers, bloggers and podcasters.

 

With so much going on, it’s no surprise that there’s an admission charge. It costs $39 to attend. But if you’re interested in topics like debt reduction, side hustles, budgeting for irregular incomes and investing to reach financial independence – to say nothing of meeting all those PF folks – then that $39 will be well worth it.

Taylor calls this an event for “the man or woman without a blog or podcast, who just wants to take their financial life to the next level by surrounding yourself with like-minded people.”

The point, he says, is “freedom, independence, security and opportunity for you and your family.”

 

The big names

 

David Bach has had nine consecutive New York Times bestsellers, and currently has more than 7 million books in print (in 19 languages). You’ve probably heard of “The Automatic Millionaire,” “Smart Women Finish Rich,” “Smart Couples Finish Rich,” “The Automatic Homeowner,” “Debt Free For Life” and “Start Late, Finish Rich,” among others. He’s regularly on The Today Show and is often featured in major newspapers and magazines.

Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, also known as The Money Coach, is a former Wall Street Journal reporter turned personal finance expert. The author of a dozen books, including New York Times bestseller “Zero Debt: The Ultimate Guide to Financial Freedom,” she recently launched Money Coach University.

Farnoosh Torabi, a former Money magazine writer, is a columnist for O, The Oprah Winfrey magazine, and for Mint.com. She hosts the “So Money” podcast and is the author of several books, including “You’re So Money: Live Rich, Even When You’re Not.”

Dee-1 is a rapper whose “Sallie Mae Back” (a song about paying back his student loans) went viral. Despite being in a profession noted for conspicuous consumption, Dee-1 decided to stay debt-free and promote the joys of financial freedom.

 

The workshops

 

You get to choose two of these four programs:

“Get Started Investing Wisely Today and Reach Financial Independence Sooner,” with Robert Farrington of The College Investor.

Known as America’s Millennial Money Expert and America’s Student Loan Debt Expert, Farrington is the founder of a site called The College Investor. His goal is to teach people not just to pay off college debt but also to understand how to earn more and invest intelligently.

“Finally Get Out of Debt For Good,” with Talaat and Tai McNeely of His and Her Money

The McNeelys, aka “American’s #1 Money Couple,” co-authored “Money Talks: The Ultimate Couple’s Guide to Communicating About Money,” and produce a podcast called “His and Her Money.” Their goal is to help singles and couples reach financial freedom.

 

“Create a Budget You Can Stick To, Even If You Have Irregular Income,” with Chris Peach

Founder of the Money Peach website, Chris Peach is a financial coach, money course creator and budgeting expert. He’s also a full-time fireman and paramedic, and leads a class of Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University that’s solely for police officers and firefighters.

 

“Start a Side Hustle Business to Increase Your Income,” moderated by Jason Vitug

Vitug is the author of “You Only Live Once: The Roadmap to Financial Wellness and a Purposeful Life” and founder of Phroogal, a financial media/education company. He’ll be leading a panel of three:

Crystal Hammond, founder of the Sophisticated Spender blog. An engineer for the U.S. government, Hammond attended FinCon16 and started a side hustle with another attendee. In one month, their sideline became a full-fledged brick-and-mortar company.

Michelle Schroeder-Gardner, who created the Making Sense of Cents blog to motivate herself to pay off $38,000 in student loans. Now she earns more than $70,000 per month with her site and related products.

Candice Marie, of the Young Yet Wise blog, focuses on getting urban millennials to get control of their cash.

 

The schedule

 

Here’s the plan:

1 p.m.: Check-in

1 to 2 p.m.: Meet-and-greet with David Bach, Lynnette-Khalfani-Cox, Farnoosh Torabi and others

2 p.m.: Workshop #1 (choose from two tracks)

3 p.m.: Workshop #2 (choose from two tracks)

4 p.m.: Farnoosh Torabi, Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, Dee-1 and David Bach take the stage

7:30 p.m.: Ignite FinCon

If that sounds like a busy day, that’s because it will be. Believe me when I say that you need to wear comfortable shoes and bring a notebook – FinCon is exhilarating, exhausting and mind-expanding. Prepare to take notes, and to have your life changed.

To sign up, visit the “Your Money, Live!” site. That is an affiliate link, which means that if you attend I will get a finder’s fee. If that idea bugs you for some reason, you can also sign up at YourMoney.live.

Hope to see you in Dallas. Please do introduce yourself if you see me.

P.S. Hoping to do a reader meet-up while I’m there, separate from this event.