A Review of FinCon21 - youramericanmoney
Author: Michelle
Description: Every time I attend a conference or similar type of event, I share a review. In this week's episode, It's a FinCon 2021 Review
Date: 2021-10-04T09:00:00+00:00

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# A Review of FinCon21

posted on 4 October, 2021

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Before I share this episode, I want to make it clear that the Universe schooled my ass on going to Texas. I had a phenomenal time in Austin at FinCon. However, everything else related to my trip from my hotel room to basic communication with the Texans I encountered was kind of a hot mess. I also got asked the question I get asked every single time I travel outside of the state “There are Black people in Colorado?” Heavy sigh. And, yes, I’m now actively boycotting Texas, which is a shame because I truly wanted to go to Marfa, Texas one of my dream vacation locations. In fact, I even share how you can boycott a state like Texas in a previous episode and will share the link to that episode below. I share all this to say that I was on the fence and didn’t make my final decision to attend until about 1 1/2 weeks before the event. Even though I’m vaccinated and committed to wearing a mask indoors, I worried about the possibility of being an unwilling participant or contributor to a COVID super spreader event. And for those of you waiting with baited breath hoping that happens, that’s kind of uncool. Anywhoo, anytime I attend a conference especially if I travel to that event I share a review. In this week’s episode, I’m reviewing FinCon 2021-was it worth it?

In order for me to support my blogging activities, I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog. Please read my disclosure here.*

## Resources

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## Listen to the Show

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- How to Boycott a State Like Texas-It’s Easier Than You Think!

- 42 Personal Finance Books Written by POC and 1 Incredible Ally

## Show Notes:

- FinCon2021 officially was my 7th FinCon event. I attended the following FinCon conferences
  - Denver 2012
  - St. Louis 2013
  - New Orleans 2014
  - Charlotte 2015
  - San Diego 2016
  - Dallas 2017
    - Orlando 2018*MISSED
    - Washington D.C. 2019 MISSED (Epic Party)
    - COVID Pandemic 2020
  - Austin 2021

- In fact, I’m kind of amazed by that huge gap in attendance. It didn’t feel like time passed so quickly.

- It’s also important for me to share that I’m not myself right now. I’m slowly beginning to feel more like before but a friend of mine did mention that I was definitely a lot more reserved than at previous events.

- The event ended up feeling (in many ways) like a complete reboot. In fact, the vibe was super chill and reminded me of the third FinCon held in St. Louis during 2013.

- I’m thinking that there were around 1,000 in-person attendees

- There was plenty of space in each conference room to spread out and I found that people were very respectful of what other attendees opted to do in regards to spacing between seats, etc.

- I really enjoyed meeting all of the new to me members of the personal finance space.

- It was so much easier to connect with people and have unrushed conversations. The conference felt “cozy” and I loved it, especially for the moment that we’re in.

- What about mask wearing and COVID protocols? Whenever I was inside the venue-I wore my mask. And, here’s a painful truth that I think it’s time for us to acknowledge. There were definitely people wearing their masks and absolutely people who were not. People managed themselves and kept their traps shut when other people were doing something contrary to what they would prefer. Personally, I would have preferred to see everyone in masks indoors. But, I knew from my experience here in Denver, an incredibly progressive city, that wouldn’t be the case. Denver does have over 80% of the population vaccinated. But, we have a huge number of tourists coming in from Texas and other states close to Colorado.
  - It’s clear that COVID is going to be like that relative that always borrows money from you when they’re broke. It’s not going away. That frustrating and painful reality has really impacted how I’m thinking attending events and protecting those around me. If you’re immunocompromised or a kid-I’ve got your back.

## FinCon 2021 the Content

In full disclosure, I was a member of the speaker panel and had a hand in picking the speakers and sessions for this event. If you get a chance to participate on a speaker committee for any conference in a space that you’re a part of I strongly recommend that you say “yes” it will give you insight into what organizations are looking for in content, how people pitch successfully and what makes a stand out pitch.

I thought I would share the 5 in-person sessions that I insist you check out when you’re watching the online sessions.

- Jaspreet Singh from Minority Money was new to me. I truly enjoyed his keynote and randomly met him at the alarming bat watch that happens every evening at dusk.

- Julien and Kiersten from Rich and Regular gave a standout Big Ideas talk and I’m hoping that Netflix is paying attention to my Tweets so that they can get a Netflix food + money show.

- Jamilah Souffrant from Journey to Launch in her Big Ideas talk reminded us to focus on the small stuff and not to overthink the process.

- John and David The Debt Free Guys gave what I feel is one of the best Big Ideas talks that I’ve heard since I started attending FinCon. Part of what made this session SO FREAKING GOOD was that I was given so much useful content and actionable steps that I’d never considered. When you’ve been in the space for awhile it’s challenging to find sessions where you’re at least somewhat familiar with what the speaker(s) is sharing. Basically, I learned so much from their session and will be using their tips today during a conversation with a potential brand partner.

- The ESG Investing conversation that I moderated with a panel of incredible ESG Investors. If you’re not familiar with Environmental Social and Governance focused Investing, please watch this panel.
  - Laura Oldanie Rich and Resilient Living
  - Kylelane Purcell from Purcell Communications
  - Kriti Sarav from Why FI Matters (she was the youngest member of our panel and is still in high school)
  - Janine Firpo from founder of Invest for Better

## FinCon 2021 Challenges

I hosted my first in-person event in 2019 and then, for some reason, I had a feeling that I should decompress and revisit hosting another event in 2021. Hosting an in-person event during a pandemic is stressful as hell. So, I share the challenges from that perspective.

- Every single event that I’ve attended in 2021 has grappled with the following question “What is the optimal amount of space to use for the event?” This was the case for the Westword Music festival that I attended in September, Podcast Movement in August, basically hosts are trying to be responsive to very valid attendee concerns about air circulation and space.

- Because the rooms were so large, the energy of the sessions ended up being eaten up by the space.

- I stayed off site at a bougie boutique hotel that I loved until I had a bazillion problems with billing. It was within walking distance of the venue, but I couldn’t walk it because I would have had to pass fairly large encampments underneath the highway. In the future, I will make my life easy and just stay in the event hotel. By the way, I 100% understand why there was a smaller room block as FinCon would have had to eat a percentage of the cost of any rooms not rented.

- The closing party was as promised-chill. A little too chill for me and I would have loved it if we could have done something at an outdoor venue.

## FinCon 2021 Austin as the Host City

I absolutely fell in love with Austin. Think of it as a small, really hot Denver with safer places to ride your scooters and a lot more water. And a really cool massive natural pool. The people were wonderful, tacos are a must have food for any meal and I hope to never see one of their Devil birds (grackles) again. If it weren’t so hot, I could absolutely live there for a couple of years. But, alas, I’m boycotting Texas. I did make a point of supporting local businesses and a couple of cool places while I was in town. If you’re in Austin check out the following:

- Earth Rides-this is a Latina owned ride share company that is 100% electric. People’s heads turned when my 2021 Tesla pulled up for me. The price was fantastic and the drivers are all employees.

- East Austin Hotel-Despite the billing fiasco, I would stay there again but book my stay directly with the hotel. Not via third party website. It’s in a great location and is just a wonderful place to stay.

- Revival Coffee-Latina owned and it had fantastic coffee. It’s also phenomenal for Instagram photos. This coffee shop also shares a courtyard with some food trucks as well.

- El Mango Feliz-Doing the Lord’s work with the delicious tacos that they were making. I went there for breakfast.

- Nails on 5th-I got my first manicure since 2019 and I loved it. The owner was hilarious when I returned after ruining my manicure and just shook her head as she fixed it.

## Overall Verdict

Was it worth it for me to attend? It absolutely was and I loved all of the hugs, conversations and in-person time that I truly missed during the past couple of years. At this point, I’ve begun alternating years that I attend conferences. I find that it takes time to implement what I’ve learned. Surprisingly, I am considering attending in 2022 even though that would be a year that I would take off from attending. It’s still a bit too soon for me to decide. I was holding my breath as I waited for the results of my COVID test this week. Happily, I tested negative.

## Buy Me a Coffee

I spend a lot of time at coffee shops working on my content. In fact, coffee shops helped me make it through the first year of the pandemic. I love supporting these small local businesses whenever I’m able to. Buy Me a Coffee is a quick and easy way to support my work and support a local business as well. Thanks so much and I’ll shout you out as well.

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#### Michelle

I am an obsessive foodie, but not self-righteous with it, love travel, meeting new people, helping you look good, and am freaked out by people who don't enjoying reading...something! Grab a Perrier, read my blog, feel free to drop me a line! Hope to hear from you soon.

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