FinCon

Giveaway: FinCon24 swag + gift card.

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FinCon24 is in the books, and I’ve decided to go back to a tradition that fell by the wayside: giving away conference tchotchkes. Because who doesn’t need more reusable shopping bags or a new T-shirt for when it’s time to paint the kitchen?

This giveaway is a little different, though, because it will also contain a gift card.

For the uninitiated, FinCon is a professional conference for those who write, podcast, advise or are otherwise affiliated with personal finance. There’s always an expo hall for sponsors and vendors to show attendees what they do.

Two things get our attention – and it isn’t signage or name recognition. No, it’s candy and swag.

The swag is what I’m giving away, because I’m still nibbling on the fun-size candy bars and soft peppermints. But it’s useful swag. Most of it has some kind of corporate branding, but heck, as a nation we’ve been conditioned to pay for the privilege of advertising someone else’s business. (Lookin’ at you, Nike swoosh.)

Here’s what the winner will get: 

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Heading to Atlanta and Phoenix.

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I leave next week for FinCon (the artist formerly known as the Financial Bloggers Conference) in downtown Atlanta. From there I will swing through Phoenix to see my daughter. 

Anyone interested in a meetup in either place?

The conference takes place Wednesday, Oct. 23 through Saturday, Oct. 26. I’ll be in Phoenix from Monday, Oct. 28 until Thursday, Nov. 11. 

My usual MO is to find an easy-to-access fast food restaurant or mall food court and set up shop with my computer. I’ll stick around for a few hours, working if no one shows up and chatting if someone does.

We can chat about whatever you like, but my guess is that most of you want to talk about how frugality can make your life more affordable. More meaningful, too.

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Save BIG on tickets to FinCon24.

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If you’ve ever considered going to FinCon (the artist formerly known as the Financial Bloggers Conference), now would be a good time to get off the fence. That’s because tickets to FinCon24 go on sale today at 50 percent off the regular cost with a discount code (more on that below). This code will be good for two weeks at half-off, and then for a lower discount after that.

FinCon24 takes place from Oct. 23 to 26 at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s no longer called the “Financial Bloggers Conference” because it’s no longer just about blogging. Podcasters, YouTubers, TikTok et al., illustrators, coaches, influencers, and, yes, ordinary civilians** attend FinCon these days. Those creators attend for one or more of the following reasons:

To learn. Even if you’re not a writer, blogger, podcaster or whatever, you might want to be, someday. FinCon24 will give you not just knowledge, but encouragement – and connections with those who are doing what you dream of doing. For example, I know of one guy who created a blog before the first FinCon had even ended, and I never thought of creating a writing course until I attended a conference session on this topic.

To meet/join forces with other* creators. Writing can be a damned lonely business, as can those other jobs mentioned earlier. Finding folks who do what you do means you now have a tribe to call on when you need inspiration, sources or just a sympathetic virtual shoulder on which to cry. A few years back, during a personal rough spell, the fabulous Jackie Lam and Sarah Li-Cain offered me this kind of support. I will always be grateful to those two fabulous women.

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A long gap in writing.

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It’s been almost two months since I posted, a fact that shocked me. The last few weeks of summer, such as it was, kept us fairly busy with gardening and preserving the harvest. Work also played a hand in the long gap in writing. So did physical therapy, followed by my joining a gym* to continue to build strength and relieve pain.

Time seemed to blur and days/weeks began to blend. Before I knew it, another week had gone by. And then another. Who let that happen?

Not writing begets more not-writing. I freeze up and don’t know what to write, and then work starts tapping on my shoulder, and it’s time to pick more berries or dehydrate more greens. I’m tired in the evenings and want only to sit in the rocker next to DF’s armchair and read. The fact that people are sending me notes asking if I’m okay made me feel guilty, which caused me to freeze up some more.

All of which is a roundabout way of saying: I apologize for disappearing without even a placeholder  “Still here!” kind of blog post.

Fact is, I’m slowly backing away from work. I’m no longer grabbing every available assignment, or constantly looking for ideas to pitch. Not quite ready to retire yet, but I’m realizing more and more that I want time more than I need money.

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What happened at FinCon16.

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th-1It wasn’t anything like we thought it would be. In a bad way.

Abby got sick but we kept attributing the symptoms to other stuff, such as exhaustion, dehydration and her compromised body finding fresh ways to torment her. At one point she weakly mused, “What new indignity are you throwing at me?”

Fortunately, my FinCon16 presentation had been at 8:30 a.m. on the first day so I was able to spend most of the time in the room with her. Unfortunately, she and I missed most of the rest of the conference.

That’s not nearly as self-serving as it sounds. Both of us mourned the chance to attend educational sessions and to hang out with fellow money nerds. And obviously no one wants to be sick, especially so far away from home.

On Saturday we agreed to stay an extra day in San Diego, still believing she could regain her strength. By mid-afternoon Sunday she decided it was time to go to the emergency room.

 

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Sunday meetup is no more!

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thI was really looking forward to saying “hello” to some readers in person. Unfortunately, the plan has changed.

Abby has been sick for two days. We’re going to stay at the hotel until checkout time, so she can rest, and then head back to Phoenix.

The next time I’m in San Diego I’ll make it work. That is, unless that’s my turn to be sick.

Really sorry that this didn’t happen, but I can’t ask her to add an extra hour to the already long travel day — or to sit in a restaurant that smells like French fries.

 

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Reader meet-up: Starbucks. San Diego. Really soon!

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th-1So sorry for the late notice! I know I’d sworn to have the Wednesday meetup site posted as soon as possible.

Wednesday as in Wednesday, Sept. 21. As in “tomorrow.”

So here’s the scoop: At 5:30 p.m., one hour before the Money Meetup — a free event at the 2016 Financial Blogger Conference — I’ll be sitting in the Starbucks at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel/Marina. Y’all come!

 

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Phoenix: Still hot.

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th-2My trip to Phoenix went as smoothly as a red-eye can, for which I am grateful. Both flights were completely full but no one was a pig about overhead bin space and thus the planes left on time.

No crying babies, either, although several of them were nearby. I even slept for the entire flight – thanks, generic Benadryl* caplet!

The winds were with us from Anchorage to Seattle, and we made it in about three hours. As I walked into the terminal I checked a monitor and realized my next flight was leaving from the same gate. Easy enough.

I ate the breakfast I’d packed** (buttered roll, apple), walked around for a while to get my legs working, and then got back on the plane and went back to sleep. About two and a half hours later I was on the ground in Phoenix.

The captain announced the temperature at 79 degrees. Manageable, I thought. But by mid-afternoon, when my daughter and I went out in search of FinCon16 clothing, it had got a lot hotter.

Hot enough that I thought, “This is definitely warmer than 79.” But since desert heat is a tricky animal, I had no way of knowing it was 102 degrees. That is, until my daughter checked the weather.

Just as northerners chuckle at those who find 30 degrees so cold, no doubt Phoenix residents would snicker at my discomfort. “Oh, this isn’t hot. Wait until it hits 112!”

 

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Meet your favorite PF bloggers at FinCon16 event.

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th-1Hey, San Diego-area readers: You’re invited to the Money Meetup on Wednesday, Sept. 21. The free FinCon16 event is sponsored by USAA and organized by Jason Vitug, founder of the Phroogal blog and author of “You Only Live Once: The Roadmap To Financial Wellness And A Purposeful Life.”

Here’s the beauty part: You don’t have to attend the Financial Blogger Conference to enjoy the meetup. It’s open to the public.

 

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No post-FinCon meetup (yet).

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thThe conference is all over, including the shoutin’, and I am as flat as week-old cola. Time-zone changes have never bothered me before but this time around I simply couldn’t fall asleep on time.

The four-hour time difference meant that even a midnight bedtime felt like mid-evening to me.

Bonus: I developed a charming habit of waking up every hour or so to see if it was time to wake up yet.

To make a short story long – a talent that came in really handy when I went back to school – I’m too tired to promise that I’d get myself to the Panera tomorrow, as I’d tentatively planned. But that doesn’t mean I’m giving up on the idea.

 

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