FinCon 2016 Highlights

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Back home from a fantastic trip in San Diego! I flew over for  FinCon, the conference for independent personal finance publishers.

Every year it gets bigger and besides personal finance writers, there are podcasters, vloggers,  big companies like Ally, Fidelity, and Experian, as well as new and upcoming fintech entrepreneurs.

Can't get into everything, but there are some big wins I'd like share.

Best Family Finance Blog Win!

The biggest surprise and highlight was Couple Money winning the Plutus Award for Best Family Finance Blog!

There were fantastic sites (such as Mom and Dad Money, Busy Budgeter, Family Finance Favs, and Catherine Alford) as finalists so I was blown away when I won.

Fintech to Watch

Starting last year, fintech has become a bigger part of the conference and I think it's great.

I get a ton of emails from companies about reviewing them, but honestly it's hard to judge from afar.

Last year I met Bill Dwight, found of FamZoo, and loved what they're doing. We now use FamZoo for tracking our little one's allowance and goals.

So those meetups are a practical way to meet the people, get sense what they're motivation is, and see the product in action.

Some companies on my watch list for this year:

• Cash Crunch Games: If you're a parent, teacher, or caregiver, you'll like Cash Crunch Games – it's designed to help teens learn about personal finance through a free game. Next month they'll be a board game for younger kids. You can catch a quick chat I had founder Paul Vasey on the podcast. (Thanks to TradeKing for sponsoring the booth!)
• Honeyfi: One shortcoming for some money apps is that you can't quite sync them as a couple. Honeyfi is looking to fix that problem and add features liek chat and pictures to help you two share your finances how you want to in real time. It's not available not, but you can sign up when they release their app.

People to Follow

I almost was going to skip this because there are so many thoughtful and encouraging people I can't list them all and I hate to leave people out.

I believe perfection is the enemy of the good, so I'll share just a few wonderful people I got to know and friendships that have deepen.

• Toni from Debt Free Divas: My roommate and the reason I could make FINCON this year. She offered her room which was just what I needed after three payments for invoices were delayed.  She is kind, generous, and fantastic!
• Michelle from Shop My Closet Project: Another awesome roommate who was the night owl to my early bird. Michelle is the social butterfly/Kevin Bacon of the conference.
• Chandrea from A Site She Will Start ASAP: No pressure! 🙂 A friend of Toni's, this was my first time meeting her and I feel blessed. Sweet, funny, and smart she was so my fun to be around.

Finally I want to give a special shout out and big thanks to Philip Taylor of PT Money for starting FinCon.

Since the first one back outside of Chicago, I've enjoyed going, mainly because of the sense of giving that's been a part of this community.

Speaking of giving, every year there's a project supported and for 2016 we prepared backpacks for a great organization, Monarch Schools.

Thank You

I want to say thank you for reading, listen, and sharing! If you ever have a money question or want to share your story, please let know.

I want to help you build up your marriage and wealth.