Tradition, it has to start somewhere. Thanksgiving, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, none of these holidays existed before either Hallmark or the government created them. All right, why not begin our own tradition by creating an Arizona based blogger hookup?
I shall name it PhoenCon15, changing the name by incrementing the year annually.
It is time to register for the PhoenCon16 event now folks. Space is limited at a bargain basement price of only $499 per person.
Ok, maybe I am getting a little ahead of myself. Let me explain.
It is great to find people who are passionate about similar PF topics as us
Early into my blogging experience, I stumbled across several Arizona based personal finance bloggers. They are:
Steve and Courtney at Think Save Retire
Abigail and Tim at I Pick up Pennies
Steve lives in Tucson and Abigail in Phoenix Arizona. I have been following their blogs and progress for most of this year. They have different writing styles, interests, and paths toward financial independence. I like them both!
Earlier this year, Steve and I had a real “bromance” going, since their goals and ours are so closely aligned – almost down to the day. Heck, even our wedding anniversaries are only one day apart. I knew we needed to meet these folks and get a chance to know them better. We have been working on a meetup for a couple months, finally making it happen last week.
We had an awesome conversation with ThinkSaveRetire
Dianne and I had planned on a weekend in Scottsdale to celebrate a milestone victory of paying off our second to last debt. We mentioned earlier in this post that the next 3 months are important for us in becoming debt free. I intentionally booked a hotel with points for a couple nights and leveraged every dining offer and coupon I could come up with to make it an inexpensive weekend. I think we did a good job limiting our costs.
We met Steve and Courtney at a great Mexican food place they enjoy visiting in North Scottsdale when they are in town. The weather was perfect and we sat outside enjoying the views of the rocks, cactus, and mountains. I was humbled that they drove nearly 4 hours round trip to have lunch with us. Thanks again guys!
The conversation flowed as if we were longtime friends. They are such a great couple with a passion to escape the rat race early, well in just one more year! I recommend you read their 4-part lifestyle series to get a glimpse of their goals and dreams.
Like us, they love Arizona, the southwest, camping, and personal finance. Those 4 out of 4 important topics are on our minds nearly every day. Weird, we have the number 4 theme going here…. I absolutely see Dianne and me crossing paths with them on our camping adventures.
BTW – Steve had articles listed on both Business Insider and Rockstar Finance recently. Congratulations! Check out his response on what happens when early retirement goes mainstream.
I finally get to see the face and voice behind I Pick up Pennies
Well, I guess I have already seen Abby’s face before when she shared it in a post prior to going to FinCon15. It was a real pleasure finally meeting both her and Tim at a casual Greek restaurant in Phoenix.
We had a great time hearing about each other’s backgrounds and where each of us has lived. Tim came from the Seattle/Tacoma area and Abby from Alaska. They are one of those lucky and smart buyers who bought a home in Phoenix at a rock bottom price and are methodically making improvements. They even have a separate mother-in-law’s area where they can house long-term guests. Brilliant!
Abby was on a panel at FinCon15 with several others that included her mother Donna Freedman, a well-respected and accomplished writer. That is quite an achievement for Abby and it shows that she is a force in blogging. I believe she has been on multiple panels in the past as well. Folks, she has been blogging for seven years. That makes her the Grandmother of PF blogging! I might add she does not look like a typical grandmother.
Tim and Abby are doing a great job with the challenges life is throwing at them. Just like us, they have some goals and dreams. I know they will accomplish them.
Back to PhoenCon16 registration
Wouldn’t you know it that the darn, prolific writer Steve was already busy writing a new article. I really believe he wrote a post about our meetup experience, while driving his car back home from lunch on Saturday. Hey – no texting while driving Steve! The article hit Sunday morning.
His article reflected on how great it was to meet others having a passion in personal finance. He went on to extend an invitation to others to look him up if they are in the Tucson area. I would like to do the same in two different ways.
The first: Anyone that is traveling to the Sedona Arizona area and wishing to meet, drop me an email and we can discuss a meetup. I love to hike and would enjoy going on the trails or simply chatting over coffee.
The second: How about organizing something a little bigger for the first week in December 2016? We can call it PhoenCon16 (pronounced fien-con), a play on a Phoenix Conference. I guess it would be more of a 2-hour meetup for one day, so not really a conference. In addition, it would be no cost since most of us are frugal minded. Depending on the interest, we could meet at a restaurant or a park. The appropriate attire for the personal finance meetup would be shorts and t-shirts, to enjoy the beautiful 77-degree weather.
Thanks again to Steve, Courtney, Abby, and Tim for taking the time to visit with us. I look forward to seeing you all again soon!
Steve @ Think Save Retire says
Great idea! I don’t know our schedule for next December quite yet, but you’ll know that we’ll make every effort to get where we need to be to make this happen. You seriously can’t get much better than Scottsdale, AZ in December.
And thanks for the shout out. Most appreciated! 🙂
Bryan says
Yeah, I know December 2016 does seem a way out at this point. It would be cool if we could put together a nice gathering of fellow bloggers and readers. That would be a lot of fun.
It was great meeting you and Courtney. Take care my friend! 🙂
Joshua says
I was actually reading Steve’s post on the meetup and thinking to myself, wouldn’t it be great if we could gather a few like minds and lunch together. I live in the area so if you want me to scout out some locations next year, let me know. I’d be glad to help.
Bryan says
Joshua,
Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Welcome!
I think this would be a great idea to schedule a meet up on an annual basis. We could begin promoting the idea mid next year for a nice meet up event to see what kind of interest we could generate. Heck, maybe it makes sense to do another quick meeting up in Spring? March and April in the Phoenix area are quite nice!
Either way, you can be in charge of the scout committee. 🙂
Take care,
Bryan
Joshua says
Sounds good to me!
Abigail @ipickuppennies says
I’m game! I always like talking to fellow PF nerds, even if we don’t actually talk much about money.
Bryan says
I agree, it is great to simply meet and get to know some like minded PF nerds. As you you noticed with our conversation with you and Tim, we talked about a lot of different things, and occasionally money. 🙂
I really enjoyed meeting you guys and thanks again for taking time out of your schedule to meet. Take care!
Donna Freedman says
When I visit Abby and Tim I generally stage a blogger meet-up; the last time, six of us met at a Wendy’s near where Abby and Tim live. The management there is very forgiving of money nerds who sit around talking and talking and talking. (Although it didn’t hurt that we all bought something to eat and/or drink.)
I’ll be in Phoenix at some point in January and probably again in February or March. Any chance you’ll be in Phoenix during those months?
And I’d definitely be up for a PhoenCon16, especially if I could combine it with a Christmas visit to my daughter. Thanks for the idea.
Bryan says
Donna,
I like your idea of meeting at Wendy’s – especially if they are ok for us PF nerds to lurk in their dining area for a couple hours. Heck, I could probably go back several times for free drink refills. Score!
It would be great to hook up with you in Phoenix next year. I will keep in touch with Abby to see what might work best for everyone. If Steve and Courtney are available, it would be good to see them as well.
Either way, I have to clear it with Joshua who is now my official Executive VP of Location Scouting services. Unfortunately his position does not pay very much 🙂
Donna Freedman says
Yep, that’s me: I buy a 99-cent drink and refill it until I turn beige. 😉
See you in Phoenix, or in San Diego — or both.
Joshua says
Too funny. Wendy’s sounds good to me. When the time comes, I’ll research fast casual restaurants with free soda refills so we can all drink until beige.
Steve @ Think Save Retire says
We are up there every once in a while, but no specific plans yet. But of course, we are always open to making the trip up even if it’s just for the meet up. We like talking with like-minded folk!
Donna Freedman says
I’ll be putting it up on the FinCon Facebook page and also on my own website, and will let Bryan know the time frame. At this point we haven’t even figured out the dates and bought the tickets.
But it’s always fun to hang out with other bloggers, especially when you’re doing it affordably (i.e., Wendy’s vs. a bar).
Bryan says
Thanks Donna for helping!
This could be a lot of good cheap fun hanging out with like minded bloggers and readers. 🙂