Expectations for FinCon 2025
We’re headed to FinCon 2025 in Portland!
(Well, perhaps that statement is tremendously obvious already, because why else would we write a blog post about “what to expect at FinCon” if we weren’t even attending? But we digress…)
Neither of us have attended this event before, so the entire experience will be new & exciting for both of us.
What expectations do each of us have?
What are we hoping to get out of this event?
And perhaps most importantly, how will it all turn out? You’ll just have to wait and see…
Sidenote: Many people in the FI community already know about FinCon or have at least heard the name mentioned. But for those who are unfamiliar…
Originally established in 2011 as the Financial Blogger Conference, FinCon is an annual event that brings together content creators and brands in the personal finance space. The conference provides a platform for creators who produce media like blogs, podcasts, videos, and social media content to network, attend workshops & panels, and form partnerships with brands. FinCon’s mission is to help content creators grow their reach, with the ultimate goal of spreading life-changing ideas about Financial Freedom & Financial Independence to a wide audience.
The Squire
I’m really looking forward to attending FinCon 2025!
I was able to go to a different finance conference called EconoMe with Scout back in 2024 and really enjoyed the whole experience. I wasn’t sure when I would get a chance to go to another conference with him.
When Scout came to me with the opportunity to go to an event where finance content creators get together and talk about their craft, I thought this sounded like a really fun opportunity. When he told me it was in the Northwest, I thought, “Wow, I can’t pass this up!”
Having a chance to travel together again and experience such a big conference with the friend that introduced me to the personal finance world is super exciting.
Because I don’t really have anything else to compare this to, my initial (though probably a bit unfair) wonder is if there will be any similarities from the EconoMe conference we attended and FinCon. Some of the same people will be attending, but the purpose is different, so how different will the vibe be?
But as far as the opportunity itself, there will be some big names in the finance world attending, and it will be great to learn from those who are so focused on the space!
Expectations
Honestly, I’m trying not to set any big expectations, and will just try to enjoy the experience. Here are some of my initial thoughts going in.
- Soak it in. I’m going to try and listen to what’s being presented and maybe take part in discussions when relevant, but not going to try to force myself to participate or take up too much time from the experts. To clarify, I’m a rather shy introvert by default, but when put in these opportunities to communicate with experts in their field, I will sometimes overparticipate rather than just take in what’s being said. So I’m going to try not to make a fool of myself… too much more than usual.
- Focus on what’s relevant. Although I have heard FinCon referenced through the various podcasts I listen to, I hadn’t really considered I would actually attend one of them. It seemed geared toward people outside of my scope of interest. But all of a sudden, working on this site with Scout, there’s no doubt we’ll pick up some things while we’re there. There are so many sessions and so many content creators and financial experts, it’s a bit overwhelming. There will definitely be takeaways for us, and I want to make sure that while I’m having fun, I make sure to take notes along the way. I hope to come away inspired.
- Have fun. Although we will be there to learn, I want to make sure to enjoy the experience too! It will be amazing to just travel with Scout and be a part of the experience! This shouldn’t be a problem.
- Make connections? As a bonus, I’m curious how much of a people connection there will be, or if it will be focused entirely on business. Although I’ve only been to a handful of financial geared events, I’ve warmed to the idea that I could connect with the Financial Independence community, or even the more general personal finance community. I’m curious to see if the conference focuses toward the community aspect at all, or if it will be entirely geared toward development, business, sales, and other aspects of the financial world.
I’ve held off thus far spending a lot of time researching, looking at reviews, or looking at other people’s expectations. Although I usually like to have a pretty good feel for what I’m getting into with events like this, for EconoMe I tried to take more of a “ go with the flow” approach, and it went really well. We’ll see how it goes for FinCon.
Scout
I’m excited, to say the least.
That may actually be the biggest understatement ever, at least in terms of my personal finance life.
I honestly can’t believe I’m about to attend my first FinCon!
The Granddaddy of All Personal Finance Events
Ever since discovering the FIRE movement back in 2018, I’ve always had a desire to attend FinCon someday. I’ve been a huge listener of Financial Independence podcasts since that time and about once a year without fail, I would hear many of the hosts talk about attending FinCon. In my mind that was THE event to attend and seemed to be the granddaddy of all personal finance events. It seemed like the place where ALL the big “FI celebrities” hung out such as Paula Pant from Afford Anything and Joe Saul-Sehy from Stacking Benjamins, amongst many others.
As a generic podcast listener and a relative nobody, I didn’t know if this event was something I should attend or more importantly whether it was something I even could attend (since it was a conference focused primarily on content creators). In addition, it felt like this was one of those things that was “for others” and not for “someone like me” who was just some random dude with an interest in personal finance.
Alas, continually hearing about FinCon over the years kept my interest piqued and I vowed that I would attend one day, even if I had to crash the party.
The good news is that with this blog I am now actually part of the content creation world, so there are no parties to be crashed; I’m now an invited guest. Well, I guess technically I’d label myself “self-invited”, since I bought my own ticket after seeing an advertisement for this year’s event.
Expectations
So what am I actually expecting from FinCon 2025?
Honestly, I have no clue.
In my mind I’ve been anticipating this event for many years, constantly thinking about “dream scenarios” and optimistic “what-ifs”…
Will I get the chance to rub shoulders with all the cool kids in the FI world? Perhaps.
Will I pick up some life-changing technical knowledge that could forever alter the trajectory of this blog? Maybe.
Will I remember this event forever? Of course.
I’ve hyped it up so much that I don’t think any real-life situations could even come close to what I’ve always imagined. However, knowing this about myself, I do have a few realistic intentions…
- I want to learn. Let’s be realistic, this blog at the moment is pretty much as basic as it gets. I fully acknowledge that The Squire and I have treated this as a pure passion project so far with our main focus on consistently writing new content. I’d like to put more effort into growing EFJ to see how many more people we can reach. FinCon is focused on content creators and is chock-full of breakout sessions, mainstage speakers, and workshops targeted at this specific audience. One of my goals is to become a student again for a few days and absorb as much knowledge as possible. Hopefully all of our readers will soon see the impact of this.
- I want to hang out. While learning is cool and I do hope to come away with more knowledge, what I’m looking forward to the most is seeing friends & acquaintances from the FI community. I’ve attended numerous in-person FI events over the past couple years and have really started to build connections with others in the community. Since everyone is spread out across the country (or perhaps even the globe) and we all have busy lives, big events such as FinCon are a great way to reconnect. Not only do I want to see old friends & acquaintances, but I am also hoping to meet many new people.
- Most importantly, I get a chance to spend time with The Squire. Although The Squire and I spend a significant amount of time collaborating on this blog, it might surprise some people to know that this is all done virtually. We live relatively close to each other, but still just far enough away that we rarely get to see each other in person. In addition to distance, each of us has a busy schedule and we each have families with kids. So I am definitely excited that not only will we get to hang out together for a few days, but as a bonus it will be at the type of event we both love – a huge personal finance meetup!
Well, it’s about that time. I gotta hit the road and mosey on over to Portland, so I’m not late for FinCon. Hope to see some of ya’ll over there!
Links/Resources
Reader Questions
- Have you attended FinCon (or any other in-person personal finance/FI event)? If so, what was your experience like and what are you looking forward to at future events?
Leave your answers or comments below – or email us directly at info@epicfinancialjourney.com