Now available: the FinCon19 Virtual Pass.

We were given a very small number of words to pitch our presentations for FinCon19. Here’s the description of my panel, “From Guest Posts to Six Figures: Actionable Tips for Freelancers”:

Beginning writers often take any jobs they can find, even if they’re poorly paid and/or labor-intensive. You need the clips! But at some point you should ask yourself whether it’s wise to do things like:

– Write for “exposure” (Hint: People DIE of exposure.)

– Write for peanuts (especially for clients who take up waaay too much of your time)

– Take assignments you don’t believe in (“Yay payday loans!”)

– Keep working with First-Ever Client out of loyalty, although other gigs pay better

The takeaways:

– Finding the right jobs

– Learning to say “no” (e.g., to calls/Skypes that take too much of your time)

– Asserting yourself (“My rates have gone up,” or “Sorry, I won’t put together a sidebar without being paid extra”)

– The gentle art of firing a client

It’s your career. Take charge of it, and don’t sell yourself short.

I had three wonderful, experienced panelists – Jackie Lam, Ben Luthi and Miranda Marquit –– and a responsive audience that asked good questions. It was a great experience that went past its alleged stop time and spilled out into the hallway for even more questions.

Sorry you missed it? You can pick up the video version by purchasing the FinCon19 Virtual Pass. The pass features 90+ sessions, including keynoters Sharon Epperson and Ramit Sethi, and it’s the next best thing to attending the Financial Blogger Conference IRL.

 

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ICYMI: FinCon18 Virtual Pass now available.

Here’s a second chance for anyone who wanted to attend the 2018 Financial Blogger Conference (aka FinCon18) but couldn’t: The FinCon18 Virtual Pass is now available.

I’m sorry you missed it. Attendees heard speakers like Rachel Cruze, Liz Weston, J.D. Roth, Jean Chatzky, Chris Hogan, Mr. Money Mustache and, ahem, me. They networked with other writers and podcasters, making guest-post and “wanna be on my podcast?” connections.

They checked out writing opportunities at the Freelancer Marketplace, and learned about the latest financial products and services from tons of vendors. Quite a few of them sat in a 16-foot inflatable flamingo that was set up in honor of the Orlando location (and which was rarely empty).

They met other people who also nerd out over personal finance, and to learn about aspects of blogging and podcasting: writing, creating a niche brand, financial independence, interviewing, creating great YouTube videos, writing and publishing books, affiliate marketing, social media, demystifying Google Analytics and many other topics.

It’s true that the FinCon18 Virtual Pass won’t get the in-person experience (or the 16-foot flamingo). But here’s what you will get:

 

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College is optional. Education is not.

(FinCon and the Center for Financial Services Innovation are sponsoring the #FinHealthMatters writing/podcasting contest. Here’s my entry.)

A recent Facebook post about college featured a couple of 20-somethings. One was a slacker dude lamenting, “I spent $60,000 on a worthless degree and no one will hire me.”

The other was a clean-cut young man happily announcing, “I spent $6,000 at a trade school and make $85,000 a year.”

Obviously things aren’t that simple. Some high-cost degrees immediately lead to high-paying jobs, and not every skilled tradesperson automatically rakes in the bucks.

But its core message is one I’ve been espousing for years:

There is more than one road to postsecondary education.

If you’re unsure what you want to do with your life, college might not be a good fit. And even if higher education is in your future, it might not look the way you imagined.

 

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15 things I like to do.

My blogging buddy and former* Get Rich Slowly boss J.D. Roth recently posted an article called “How to find purpose in your life: 12 powerful exercises to help you discover purpose and passion.”

Among those exercises was one called “20 things you like to do,” which is just what it sounds like: Make a list of 20 things – and it must be 20 – that you like to do.

With those items you’re supposed to create a chart with columns like “when did you last do this thing,” “is it free or is there a monetary cost,” “solitary or social,” “planned or spontaneous” and several other descriptors.

J.D. admits he could list only 16 things he likes to do. Even better: “Playing computer games” was the first one he thought of, whereas “sex” was the second thing to come up (as it were).

Not only does he admit it (not sure I would have!), J.D. pokes fun at himself before the readers had a chance: “Kind of sad (and hilarious) to note that this list is in the order I thought of things.”

I decided to bounce off his post and give a list of 20 things I like to do. Trouble is, I couldn’t make it to 20 things either. Maybe that means my tastes are refined, or maybe it means that I’m a pretty boring person.

Note: These are in no particular order. In fact, one of the most important things I like to do is found at the end.

 

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Pinterest won’t cover your credit card bills.

According to the “Generations Ahead” study from Allianz Life, millennials aren’t doing too badly, financially speaking.

They’re building good savings habits, thinking about retirement, etc. However, social media is doing a number on their good intentions.

Almost 90 percent of the millennials surveyed believe that social media encourages people to compare their own lives with the way other people live.

You don’t say.

More than half (57 percent) of those millennials cop to having spent money because of social media influence. That’s why I wrote “Social media will try to bankrupt you: Here are four tactics to stay solvent” over at The Simple Dollar.

 

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Where I’ve been.

To quote a recent headline from my daughter’s website:

Blah.

As in, “I haven’t written much lately and I apologize. But things have been so busy that when I finally stop for the day my mind is, well, pretty blah.”

Can’t focus on brilliant new blog post ideas. Heck, I can barely focus on anything except putting out freelance fires and after that, hanging out with DF for a little while and going to bed.

Maybe it’s the long spell of gray, gray days. Maybe it’s age-related fatigue; where I once could write from morning until the midnight hour, now I just want to get away from the screen after a few hours. Whatever the reason, I just haven’t felt creative enough to write anything.

Yet I hate to have 10 days go by with nothing new up on the site. I miss you guys when I don’t post!

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In your 40s? Do these things or risk dying broke.

Your fifth decade can be swell, since that’s when you’re in your prime earning years and when your kids (if any) are likely to be adults or nearly so.

If you were careful (and lucky) in your 20s and 30s, you’ll start to see some real rewards in your 40s.

Not every life is lucky, of course. Issues like un- or underemployment, divorce, chronic illness and a lack of financial education can derail your dreams. Nearly 30 percent of Gen Xers, who are currently in their 40s and early 50s, have zero retirement savings.

 

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The painful truth about your emergency fund.

Last year I fully intended to promote my book and also my daughter’s book at the Financial Blogger Conference. What happened instead is that Abby became seriously ill and we both missed most of the programs.

No networking for us!

Not only did we not have the chance to promote our work, the experience wound up costing us. She had to take extra time off work, and as a contractor, she doesn’t get sick days as such. She just doesn’t get paid.

I wound up spending about an extra $1,000 on extended hotel and rental car costs plus the change fee for my plane ticket. Wheeee!

Did any of that matter? No. And yes.

That’s the subject of my post today on The Simple Dollar, a piece called “The Painful Truth About Your Emergency Fund.” Obviously I would have done anything to help my daughter recover. Yet I learned something from the experience: that using your EF is really irritating.

 

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Credit myths, plus a chance to win “Playbook Vol. 2.”

Pop quiz! True or false:

Closing a credit card always decreases your credit score.

It is possible to lock all of your credit reports at once.

Utility payments are always included in credit scores.

Marital status affects your credit report.

Checking your credit score has an impact on your credit report.

If you said “false” to all of these, then you’re ahead of a bunch of your fellow citizens. Anywhere from 31 to 51 percent of those surveyed didn’t know that, according to a new study from TransUnion.

Want to learn a little more? Check out my guest post on I Pick Up Pennies. It’s an excerpt from “Your Playbook For Tough Times, Vol. 2: Needs And Wants Edition” – and if you act soon, you might win a copy.

 

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What financial health means to me: An evolution.

(FinCon and the Center for Financial Services Innovation are sponsoring a writing contest: “In 500 words, explain what financial health means to you.” Here are my thoughts.)

My journey to financial health was entirely roundabout, and I didn’t get there until middle age. Financial survival, not financial health, was the focus of my childhood and young adulthood.

Our one-bath, two-bedrooms-plus-attic place housed six. “Lunch” meant peanut-butter-on-bakery-outlet-white-bread sandwiches.

Clothing came down from cousins. We got a few toys at Christmas and a little meat for most suppers. I watched Dad at the kitchen table, printing the household budget. $30 groceries. $10 shoes. $15 Sears.

When my mother moved out it was natural (if not healthy) that I took over, pinching pennies and fretting a hole into my 16-year-old stomach lining. We always broke even – the only kind of money health I knew.

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