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This year’s Financial Blogger Conference, FinCon14 to us nerds, was held in New Orleans. 600 passionate writers, authors, speakers and, of course, podcasters came together at the Marriott on Canal Street – deep in the heart of the city.

I can’t give you a full recap because there was no way to attend every session, breakout, meet up, or dinner. What I can tell you is the awesome time I had with the few people I was able to hang out with for three days. Forgive me if I ramble on too long – there were just too many magical moments that can not be described as happenstance.

Oh yeah, AND WE WON AN AWARD! Scroll to the end of this post to see the award.

The Collaboration Multiplication Factor

I attended the Podcast Movement one month earlier and met Mark Deal. He hopped onto the same shuttle bus and we started talking about our podcasts. Mark had purchased tickets for FinCon and knew I was going.

About a week before flying to New Orleans he called me to offer a ride from the airport to the FinCon hotel in exchange for free parking. He wasn’t able to secure a reservation at the Marriott and was staying elsewhere through a deal on AirBandB. Me: “Mark Deal, you’ve got a deal.” He’s never heard that before.

The day before the conference began I learned Jared Easley, Co-founder of Podcast Movement and host of Starve The Doubts podcast, was landing 20 minutes after my plane. Knowing Mark had 2 available seats gave me the opportunity to invite him along for the free ride.

Jared and I met at baggage claim and we walked out to meet Mark and his Passat. Not even 10 seconds passed and Jared bumps into someone else he knew: Grant Baldwin. Grant is a professional speaker and would be presenting one of the seasons on Saturday. He was standing in line to grab a shuttle or cab to the hotel. Jared looks over to me and asks “Does Mark have room for one more”?

SCORE! I think I brought serious value to Mark’s trip. Not only did he get to ride with Jared Easley but now he has some pre-conference time with THE Grant Baldwin.

Collaboration at work brother!

Power-up the Podcasting Stage

The podcasting stage returned this year with eleven shows happening throughout the conference schedule. My show followed Joshua Sheats from Radical Personal Finances, my favorite New Personal Finance Podcast, and concluded before my old favorite podcast of 2014 – Cash Car Convert by James Kinson.

My show consisted of an interview with Anthony Sprauve from FICO. This interview was in the making since January but we could never make our schedules work. This time I had him sequestered in a hotel and asked for an hour of his time.

Yes, I asked him pointed questions and attacked the credit scoring industry. Yes, this was an epic interview (Anthony admitted that this could be the first appearance or audio interview with FICO – EVER). No, I did not make him cry. Please forgive me but I’m not into the sensationalism of broadcasting – this is about getting to the truth and helping people pay attention for themselves.

BTW: Thank you Country Finance for sponsoring the stage.

Jazz Parade to Ignite Speeches

Two main events were scheduled for Thursday night: The Welcome Reception and Ignite FinCon. The Reception was your typical hors d’oeuvres and drinks but was enhanced with a live New Orleans jazz band. Fun.

But that’s not all! The band got up and led a FinCon parade down two floors and out to door, leading us towards the next event: Ignite. If you ever have the opportunity to attend an Ignite event in your city – GO! It’s a blast.

Start watching at the 30 second mark:

Going to see Jeff Goins (he’s never heard that before)

The conference started off with a keynote by writer/author Jeff Goins. He talked about Doing the Work of a Dream and shared stories about being turned down by a girl when he serenaded her in front of a live dorm audience. Ouch. Don’t worry Jeff, that wasn’t the only takeaway from your presentation.

BTW: My buddy James Kinson did the introduction. Great job James.

Interviews and the “Value” of a credit card

The rest of the day consisted of sessions, hallway conversations – including an hour long debate between Joshua Sheets and me about Dave Ramsey’s advice (to be released as a future episode but you can listen to it on Joshua’s website now – 80 minutes).

Lunch was provided by a large banking institution. I won’t name them because I am thankful for the free food but were pushing something I don’t believe in – their credit card. The spokesperson did a wonderful job in her presentation, but she was pushing their new rewards credit card.

Over and over and over again she would say “this is a really good value”, value this and value that – IT’S A STUPID CREDIT CARD! I understand the attraction of rewards – I used to spend $1 to get the prize in a box of Cracker Jacks too – but borrowing money in the form of a short-term loan is not what I call VALUE. Blah.

Dr. Daniel Crosby and the 10 Commandments of Investor Behavior

I need to stop going to these conferences: The more people I meant the dumber I feel. These are some smart, intelligent and creative folks! I’m not worthy but can learn from their knowledge.

One example is the keynote presented by Dr. Daniel Crosby. I had the opportunity to Tweet back-and-forth a few times with him before meeting him in person.

First impression? What a nice guy! He can’t be that smart or he wouldn’t be spending time on Twitter with little ‘ol me.

Impression after speaking with him and watching his presentation? He’s awesome and connects with the audience on a personal level – even from the stage.

He presented the 10 Commandments of Investment Behavior. A title like that often denotes one person’s opinion of how things work – or how they think it should work. However, Dr. Daniel Crosby’s list was based on behavioral studies and even contained statistics like “You need to get it right (timing the market) 82% of the time to match a buy-and-hold strategy.

If you believe a buy-and-hold strategy is an effective way to invest, click on this to send Dr. Daniel Crosby a Tweet:

@IncBlot I agree that a buy-and-hold strategy is an effective way to invest

Click To Tweet

Tom Corley’s Greatest Hamburger

In my interview with Tom Corley, Author of Rich Habits, I asked about Chapter 27: The World’s Greatest Hamburger. We both think you should buy his book but if you want me to spoil the secret – it’s Port of Call on Esplanade in New Orleans.

A dozen FinCon’rs walked 30 minutes with me to find the coveted sandwich. It was good, but the company and time spent talking and walking made the entire evening more enjoyable than a happy belly. Thanks for the recommendation Tom!

Listen to Tom Corley’s interview

Chris Ducker and PT Money are Happy

OK, I always heard Chris Ducker is a cool guy but he’s also a great dancer.

Watch the raw recording of PT Money cutting the rug with Chris Ducker

Takeaways from Chris’s keynote?

• You have something nobody else has to offer the world.
• “Your audience wants you to help them and solve their problem. SO SELL THEM SOMETHING FOR GOD’S SAKE”.
• We love Bob and will pass the grocery store to buy his bread 😉

By the way: Chris Ducker uses ScreenFlow to train his VAs. If you would like to learn how to use ScreenFlow to train your VAs or clients, go to http://HowToUseScreenFlow.com

DEBT FREEDOM FIGHTERS WIN!

WE DID IT! WE WON! Sorry, I was pretending to be Tom Corley there for a second.

No, the show did not win Best Personal Finance Podcast. That honor went to Stacking Benjamins and I TOTALLY AGREE!

But we did win Best Debt-Focused Blog. There was NO WAY we should have won that award. After all, 95% of the blog posts on MoneyPlanSOS.com are show notes for the podcast. I started the podcast because I’m a horrible writer.

That’s why I was totally shocked when Kay Bell announced the winner. I was watching, recording and just enjoying the fact that the site was in the list of finalists. Then she said it “The winner for Best Debt-Focused Blog is MoneyPlan SOS”.

What? Huh? Wait, that’s my site. Kate Rhoten was sitting to my right and Kraig Mathias to my left. They were applauding and cheering and I hesitated for a second.

I was so taken up in the moment that I didn’t hand the camera over to my friends. No, that would have been perfect! Instead, I took it with me and threw it in my pocket – still recording while accepting the award. Duh.

Watch the raw footage:

Reflecting on FinCon14

Winning the award is obviously huge for me. It has given me confidence and the message of Debt Freedom more social proof.

But the real value is, and always has been, the relationships rekindled and forged while at the conference. I love the keynotes, learn from the sessions, but I bought my ticket to be in the hallways with great people. It’s my favorite place to be when attending FinCon.

I’ve already got my ticket (see, my confirmation is below). Are you going to #FinCon15?

Through September 3oth you have chances to win Tom Corley’s Rich Kids paperback. It is autographed by Tom himself.

There are a variety of ways to earn entries and you can even stuff the ballot box by using the widget below to Tweet every day. Yes, I said EVERY DAY through September 30th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Want to order a copy for a relative of friend? Click on the book to order a copy via Amazon.com

Keep an eye on your mail this week. You may receive a plain white envelope from Wilmington, DE with some money you thought you had lost. PerkStreet is issuing checks to ex-customers of their closed Perks program.

Flashback: August 12, 2013

PerkStreet, a subsidiary of Bankcorp Bank, left many customers wondering what happened when they announced that they would be closing their doors in September 2013.

The announcement came in an email to PerkStreet customers on August 12, 2013. There was no warning, not even to those who worked closely with them like Dave Ramsey’s Lampo Group, and all Perks their customers were collecting were cancelled.

 

Listen to an interview with PerkStreet CEO, Dan O’Malley, about what happened to PerkStreet.

 

Many customers were upset as they had allowed their Perks to accumulate with the idea of redeeming them for gift cards or cash to be used to buy Christmas presents.

Cutting off the program and keeping the Perks was all legal and consistent with the terms of PerkStreet’s Rewards Program Agreement, but nobody likes to have the icing removed from their piece of cake.

Fast-forward to Jun 21, 2014

I had just finished mowing the front yard when USPS pulled up to our curb. She handed me the mail with a smile and I shuffled through the variety of junk mail and solicitations.

However, one envelope caught my eye. It was from Wilmington, DE. Slicing the envelope open with my index finger I was surprised to find a check for $41.25. It was the exact amount as the Perks I had to leave behind.

The check was accompanied with a letter:

“Here’s some good news for you as an eligible participant in the former PerkStreet Perks Program! The cash value of your unredeemed Perks balance is being paid to you through the enclosed check.”

Cool. I like unexpected checks in the mail.

Who gets a check?

You can expect a check if you had a Perks balance greater than $15 prior to August 12, 2013.

PerkStreet eliminated the redemption fee (2 perks or $2 per $20 cash redemption) and sent the checks via U.S. mail on June 13, 2014. They ask that you allow 12 to 15 business days for your check to arrive.

If you have any problems receiving your Perks redemption check they ask you email Customer Care at support@myperkstreet.com or call toll-free 866-792-2834.

What to do with your PerkStreet Perks check

Treat this unexpected bonus as income. Then, apply it to wherever you are in your Baby Steps:

1) Save $1,000 in the bank for emergencies
2) Pay off all non-mortgage debt
3) Increase emergency savings to 3 to 6 months worth of expenses
4) Save 15% of your gross income in retirement plans
5) Save for kid’s college (if you choose to)
6) Pay off the house early
7) Well, just give it away. We’ve all gotten past this PerkStreet debacle so you really weren’t expecting it anyway.

Another alternative:

I deposited my PerkStreet Perks check into our checking account, allocated it into our budget using YNAB, and the money is making its way towards our next big savings goal: Replacing the windows in our drafty house!

 

What is your plan for your PerkStreet Perks check?

I’m rather embarrassed to admit this but if you read this blog or listen to my podcast then you need to know: I’m horrible at paying attention.

Does that change your view of me? I hope it doesn’t. The reason I teach (and preach) so much about paying attention to your finances is because I know first-hand what happens when I don’t pay attention to my own!

• I’ve taken $40 too much out of my Blow Money category
• I forgot to send in a bill before the due date
• I went into overdraft

Only one of these have happened in the past few years, so I thought I was getting better.

That was until I found the Luminosity app (click for link to the free app in iTunes).

Training my brain

This app is really cool. It consists of games designed to test your memory, reaction speed, and attention. It trains your brain with math problems and some very interesting puzzles.

Memory Matrix

One game shows you a grid with some squares filled in. Then it gives you the same grid but you are to tap on the squares that used to contain the filled in ones. It’s kind of like the old ’80s game “Simon”, but without the need to follow a sequence.

My favorite Luminosity game

My favorite game asks you to swipe your finger in the direct that the center bird is heading – not the other birds around it.

The game is simple but important to measuring our desire to answer quickly rather than make sure we get it right.

Raindrops

Raindrops has simple math equations that fall from the sky. Use the keypad to solve each problem before the drop hits the water. Talk about a fun math challenge!

Even though I score fairly well in this game, it’s the combination of responses to all the games that gives me an overall attention score. There are other measurements like speed, flexibility, etc.

Why I need to focus on paying attention

Last Saturday I was replacing a couple fenceposts. It had been set in 18″ of concrete so pulling it out of the ground was not an easy task.

I wanted to give up. I wanted to cut the post at the ground level and move on. My impatience made me want to quit and move on to something more interesting.

My daughter was helping and 30 minutes later I was about to give up. She said “We can do this dad. Don’t quit”. We focused all our attention on the problem and finally hoisted the stupid thing out of the ground.

Nothing great happens when you stop paying attention

When you think about it, nothing good happens by accident:

• Grass may grow but dandelions will overtake the yard if you don’t pay attention to the weeds
• You could get a raise but promotions go to those who focus on their work
• My daughter will grow up but she won’t be a strong, confident woman without her daddy’s attention

One of the “10 Steps To Improve Attention and CashFlow” is to deal with the distractions and track them. Have you started making note of each and every distraction that happens to you during the day? I’ve only begun to track it and I’m amazed at how often my phone takes me away from my task. A load of laundry seems innocent enough until you realize it costs you about 10 extra minutes of your life just going up-and-down the stairs between the wash-and-dry cycle and taking the hangers upstairs.

How I pay attention to our money

Here are some tricks I use to keep me focused on our money:

• Limit the amount of spending money (cash in my pocket) so I don’t blow it all too quickly
• Enter transactions into my smartphone using the YNAB app so I don’t forget
• Balance our checkbook monthly so to make sure we’re on budget and our account hasn’t been compromised

I’m also going to keep playing Luminosity until my Attention rating is in the 900’s. I just have to promise myself not to let it distract me from more important things.

What are some tricks you use to keep from being distracted in life? Share it on FaceBook or in the comments below. Thanks!

 

How do successful people spend money? I interviewed Pat Flynn, a successful blogger and awesome podcaster at SmartPassiveIncome.com, during the Financial Blogger Conference. He shares with us his first financial experience as an adult, his 5 year goals, and if he would enter a Blogger-themed edition of Wipeout.

What was the first financial experience that made you feel like an adult?

“I remember in college I started working as a waiter, then a bartender. It was the first time that I used my own money to pay for rent instead of my parents money.

That was my first financial experience that made me feel like an adult, meaning it was money that I earned to pay for something like shelter. It felt really good to write that large check.”

How did you handle your first financial emergency?

“In 2008 I was working a good job as an architect and learned I was going to be laid off. That was 2 months after I proposed to my wife. My wife is Philippine, weddings with Philippines are huge so I was thinking ‘Wow, we have a lot of things think about as far as paying for the wedding and what are we going to do for a living’ among other things.

We both decided to move back in with our parents. That was an interesting time in my life; Being a 23 year old moving back in with their parents. It was cool because of the free meals and laundry, you know.

A lot of people think moving back in with your parents is failure. For me it was an opportunity to reset and figure out what to do next. That was when I got into internet business, which definitely was a life changing thing for me.”

When did money from savings come in handy?

“My family and I had been saving for a Disney cruise. Money is doing OK for us but we always know that we don’t want to just spend money without a reason.

We had been planning this vacation for a long time, putting a few hundred bucks into savings every month for about a year and a half knowing that it would pay off. We finally went on this vacation with our 2 kids, a 1 year old daughter and a 4 year old son, and we all had a great time.

It was so nice to know that the money was there waiting for us. Going on this trip was like the reward for saving all that money.”

Do you have a 5 year goal?

“I do. I have a 1 year goal, a 5 year goal and a 10 year goal. It’s important to have these goals and 5 years is a long way away. That’s why it’s important to break them down and have a 1 year goal to help you progress to a larger, 5 year goal.

My 5 year goal is to have my kids in a school that is teaching them an education that will help them improve who they are as a person. That’s very important to us as a family.

Personally and business-wise I want to have a traditional book on the market. I have ebooks, and a lot of people are going the route of publishing an ebook, but there’s something about having that traditional book. I want to go to a Barnes and Noble with my kids, find my book on the shelf and say ‘This is daddy’s work. He worked hard for this and you can be here too.‘”

Have you ever spent more than $1,000 for a suit?

(pause, audience giggles)

“Only recently, and I’m not trying to make an excuse for this but I’ve been doing a lot of public speaking lately. I’m trying to give myself as much of an edge as possible while on stage.

Recently I purchased a jacket, just a jacket, that was $2,500. It’s the most I’ve ever spent on clothes but it’s one that’s going to last a really long time. I don’t think I’m growing anymore, so I don’t have to think about that.

Psychologically, when I put on that coat I’m in ‘Presenting Mode’. It helps me as a speaker and it helps everyone the audience as I deliver information. But it was definitely weird paying that much, I mean I shop at Target, but I figured it was an investment for my business.”

Is podcasting alive, dead, or is it just treading water?

“It’s just starting out. Podcasting has been around for a while and it was just the ‘techie’ people who could figure it out but it’s getting easier now to produce a show. You will see more and more shows coming out.

There are 350,000,000 blogs out there and only 300,000 podcasts – there’s still a lot of opportunity in the podcasting world and it’s going to grow.”

Would you compete in a Blogger-themed edition of WipeOut?

“WHERE DO I SIGN UP?”

 

Thank you Pat Flynn for granting me the interview. I had a blast and I pray for continued success in your business.