The first CampFi that I attended was during the midst of COVID summer 2020. I’d sat in my home literally by myself for 3 months straight trying to wrap my head around what in the hell was going on. As I type this it’s hard for me to remember when I was given the invitation to speak at the event. Was it at the beginning of 2020 in January or closer to July when CampFi Rocky Mountain was being held? I can’t tell you. I had so many fears about going even though it was only 45 minutes from my house and I was committed to staying outside as much as possible and wearing a mask because it was already clear that we were dealing with an airborne virus. I share all of this to say that I was filled with doubt about attending even though it was 45 minutes away. Also, as I had not hit my FIRE number and am a Slow FIRE evangelist, I wasn’t sure if anyone would really “hear” my message. That event went well, but my second time attending was so much better than the first and I wanted to share a review of CampFI San Diego or CampFI Southwest. If you’re looking to attend a FIRE event I share why a CampFI event should be on your list. I will also wrap up this episode with some thoughts about creating welcoming spaces in the FIRE community. It’s not enough to just be nice people. I’m also going to share why I didn’t go to EconoMe and why I’m rethinking that decision for 2022.
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Show Notes
- Stephen Baughier whose name I always mess up is the founder and creator of CampFI a series of FIRE focused events held across the United States throughout the year.
- This year I attended the CampFi Southwest event that had been originally slated to be held at Joshua Tree-a major reason why I said “yes” to speaking at the event.
- Sadly, like many events during these crazy times, the venue had to be changed.
- We ended up at a YMCA camp just outside of Julian, California a quaint little town with a cute Main Street. I ended up carpooling from San Diego to Julian with Joe Saul-Sehy and Doc G who are so damn funny. We even ended up stopping in a scary town on the way to the event and hightailed our asses back into the car because the hills have eyes.
- What truly stood out with the Southwest event was how much more diverse the life experiences and people were at that event. I’m convinced that I was attending the most diverse CampFI they’d ever hosted. I’ll be candid and say that I felt this was not the case with the first event that I attended.
- No, there weren’t enough Black attendees, there were only 3 of us and part of why I’m sharing this review is to encourage Black and Brown attendees to attend this specific event for a couple of reasons.
- The event is small and cozy. This makes it easier to have more nuanced and deeper conversations with the other attendees
- I’ve found CampFi attendees to be a lot less indoctrinated in a certain type of FIRE philosophy. This makes it easier to have conversations with them about the approach you’re taking to hit your FIRE numbers.
- There is a certain amount of informality connected to this event that makes it a lot more approachable. I ziplined that week and went on a short hike. We even enjoyed hanging out at the fire pit during the evenings.
- It’s my hope that this event is hosted at Whispering Winds again. The staff was amazing, the facility was located in a beautiful part of California and I loved that all three meals were provided in addition to a ton of snacks, drinks and other things that made the event cozier.
- My roommate was incredible and also happened to be one of the speakers for the event as well as myself. It was great to meet someone in the FIRE space, running a business that I understood but was different due to the area of focus.
- As for the content-There were 5 of us who presented 4 completely different topics.
- I gave a talk called “Tomorrow isn’t Promised” And really shared my thoughts about what people get wrong during their pursuit of FIRE. And what Slow FIRE gets right.
- Joe Saul-Sehy gave us perspective about the FIRE journey
- Big Ern talked Taxes!
- Heather (my roomie) talked about the importance of connections. In fact, her talk really got me thinking about how my connections had been impacted during the past 3 years.
- Sean Mullaney
- The one challenge with the facility were the beds. I felt like I was serving penance. But, I was able to fix the issue by pulling the mattress from the top bunk and adding it to my bunk (doubling the mattress width)
Creating Welcoming Spaces in the FIRE Community
One of the key takeaways from my second CampFi experience is that not everyone is 100% sure that these FIRE events are welcoming. In fact, it was after I confirmed that I would be speaking at this event that the other Black attendees, a lovely couple from New Jersey, said “yes” to attending it. Coming from Colorado navigating primarily white spaces is like second nature for me. You get used to it. But, for attendees coming from communities that are not predominately white, they are hesitant to attend (and rightfully so) before confirming a few things.
- Will the people be safe for me to be around?
- If I travel across the US will I actually enjoy this experience or at least get something worthwhile from it?
- Can I show up authentically as myself and have substantive and transformative conversations and make long lasting connections that are sustained after the event? This is a huge consideration as building a supportive community of friends and supporters is a key part of sustaining your financial journey.
- Event organizers need to ask themselves the following questions or at least consider them
- Is the location that I’m hosting my event unappealing to people (for whatever reason) I knew that hosting my Money on the Mountain financial retreat for women in Denver would be an opportunity for people to visit who might not have done so without being connected with a person of color here in town. Here are some reasons why an event could be unappealing:
- Location-City vs. Country-for some people they may prefer one over the other
- Expense-How much are people spending and what is the perceived value to them?
- Time of Year-Americans have only so much vacation time. What is interesting to watch is how increased work from home opportunities will impact event attendance (flexibility)
- Event size-How large or small will the event be.
- Content clarity-Is it clear who the event is actually for and the type of speakers and supporting content that will be shared.
- Previous attendee feedback-Are your previous attendees evangelizing for your event? Are they sharing feedback about the experience, content, food, people, etc. Without needing to be prompted?
- Is the location that I’m hosting my event unappealing to people (for whatever reason) I knew that hosting my Money on the Mountain financial retreat for women in Denver would be an opportunity for people to visit who might not have done so without being connected with a person of color here in town. Here are some reasons why an event could be unappealing:
- Event organizers need to be open to hearing feedback about their event and the town that they’re hosting it. I’ll be candid and say that in order for me to say “yes” to an event (especially during a worldwide pandemic) I need to be pretty freaking excited about the city or area the event will be held. I met the wonderful founder of EconoMe at FinCon Austin. She asked if I was planning to attend EconoMe and I was like NOPE. I have no interest in going to Cincinnati. The thing is, I consistently am underwhelmed by the Midwest. It’s not the first place that I say to go visit. Also, real talk, until people talk about Cincinnati with the same passion that they talk about Detroit-I’m not excited to go. I am excited to go to Detroit. That said, I encouraged people to attend because the content and content creators she’s sharing at that event are incredible. I bring this up to say that I said something tough to her and she took it with grace. With feedback like this a creator be like “Look, I get what you’re saying but the content, attendees and overall experience will blow your mind. Give it and me a chance.” I was so impressed by the line up and the attendee excitement that I’ve seen that there is a pretty good chance that if it’s held next year I may end up attending.
- Does the content at your event take into account that people are impacted differently by race, gender and policy?
- Are there scholarship opportunities that allow FIRE inspired folks to attend who are in the process of cleaning up their financial foundation? Scholarships, volunteering and speaking opportunities enabled me to attend events for YEARS as I cleaned up my financial mess. What really struck me as the key difference between the first CampFI that I attended, Moustachian events and CampFI SouthWest was the diversity of life experience at the CampFI Southwest event. I felt like it was the best reflection of the diversity of financial experiences that people have. There was a couple who started their journey when they hit 50. They had to clean up a mess and then things accelerated from there. People forget that the retirement age is mid to late 60’s. It took them around 9 or 10 years to still retire early. One attendee owed $100,000 up until recently and lived in their car for awhile. They have cleaned up that debt and are accelerating their FIRE journey. This group of attendees was a lot more relatable to me and I felt like this diversity of experience was beneficial to all of the attendees.
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