Allison and I attended our first FinCon, the self-proclaimed “money nerd” conference, in 2018 (in Orlando). I had an opportunity to be a speaker, and we met lots of influencers in the FIRE space. We also combined it with a week at Disney and Cape Canaveral. Needless to say, we were pretty hooked at that point!

We followed up Orlando with FinCon19 in Washington D.C., where we again made a larger trip out of it. We toured the Capitol and the Pentagon, which were both awe inspiring. Then we headed up north to spend time with family and friends in New York and New Jersey.

FinCon20 was supposed to be held in Long Beach, California, but unfortunately COVID-19 put the kibosh on those plans. That event became a virtual-only conference, and while better than no event, it was a far cry from in person.

So, when FinCon announced they would hold this year’s conference in Austin, we were psyched.

 

FinCon21 in Austin

After getting our coronavirus vaccine, we were determined to get back to doing things again. The summer of 2021 was going to be the start of our “year of saying yes!”

Our plan was to rest up for a bit after our epic 8-week 12,500 mile road trip and then set off for Austin. Unfortunately, the Delta variant came in like a freight train just as we were returning from our trip.

We kept hearing about “breakthrough infections” and how poorly Texas was handling the pandemic with non-existent mask and vaccine mandates. Suddenly it didn’t seem like such a good idea to attend a crowded in-person conference in Texas.

After some deliberation, we decided to go for it. We were going to trust the science behind the vaccines and try to stay safe by wearing masks indoors and spending time outdoors as much as possible. Plus, we couldn’t pass up being on a panel about “Life After FI” with three other FIRE veterans!

You always remember your first time doing things in life. Your first kiss, your first pet, your first job, your first…, well you get the idea. While this was not our first FinCon, it did mark a few other “firsts” for us…

 

1) Flying Since COVID-19 Started

We returned from our 10-week Europe & South America trip in mid-January of 2020 (when we took 10 flights). At the time, it looked like COVID-19 was just a problem in China and they were getting it under control. Little did we all know what was coming.

It’s really hard for Allison and me to stay put in one place for too long. But when the pandemic eased up last summer, we still didn’t want to get on a plane. We decided to road trip it up to the Pacific Northwest. Between that trip and our 41-state road trip this summer, we’ve put about 18,000 miles on Lola the Corolla in two years.

Despite all that travel, we were still reluctant to step foot on a plane. Sure, we’re vaccinated, but what about all the other people who may not be? And what about all the people we’ve been seeing going crazy on airplanes, harassing flight attendants and acting like maniacs?

Fortunately, reality is usually a lot tamer and less intense than the stories we see in the news. Our flights to and from Austin were very pleasant. There were no shenanigans by crazy people, and both flights were only about 60% full.

Will we do it again? The short answer is yes, we’ll certainly fly again soon. The longer answer depends on when and where. We have no plans to fly in the near future, but we’d love to do another bigger trip at some point. Maybe early 2022?

 

2) Visiting Austin

Believe it or not, Allison and I have never been to Austin before this trip. We’ve been to Texas (in fact, we’ve been to all 50 states), but never to the city everyone talks about.

Austin is one of the places that many people here in the Bay Area mention when they threaten to leave California. It has been on our radar for some time, but we never had a specific reason to go.

Although we didn’t get the full “Keep Austin Weird” experience due to the pandemic, we tried to make the most of our time. Of course we indulged in plenty of delicious food: BBQ, Tex-Mex, fried chicken, local brews, doughnuts, and ice cream.

We were staying right downtown, so we could walk to spots along Sixth Street and Rainey Street. After dinner one night we went bat watching along the Congress Avenue Bridge. We didn’t know this was a thing, but it was really cool!

Will we do it again? I am certain we will make our way back to Austin again. Hopefully next time we can enjoy the local music scene and nightlife without the fear of catching a life-threatening disease.

 

3) Allison Speaking in Public

Until she told me later, I didn’t realize that Allison had never spoken in front of a large audience before. She was a team leader in her career and HOA President twice, so she has spoken to many small groups.

The cool thing is that you would never have known she wasn’t used to speaking to a large group of people. She was as smooth, witty, and interesting (Note from Allison: I did NOT write this!) as any of the rest of us on our panel: “Life After FI.”

It made me realize that we need to have Allison speak to more audiences. For example, I recorded most of the courses we created when we started Retire By 45. Now I want to go back and refresh these courses and include much more of Allison.

This was also my first time speaking on a panel. It was a fun experience, especially doing it with Allison and others well-respected in the space. Amy and Tim Rutherford (GoWithLess) and Doug Nordman (The Military Guide) are all FIRE veterans.

Will we do it again? Allison and I will certainly do more public speaking as opportunities arise. She’s a natural at it, and I look at it as a challenge that gets me out of my comfort zone. It could be in the form of doing more podcasts, interviews, and big and small talks to people in the community.

 

4) Selling Our Books in Person

One of the coolest parts of FinCon21 for us was being able to showcase and sell our two books in person. It’s great to market your books on Amazon, but you don’t get a chance to talk to your readers that way.

We were blown away by the reception to our books: Start Your FIRE and Investing for Kids. It was so much fun to see people flip through the pages of our books and marvel at the colorful illustrations and graphs. 

     

As an author, it’s so gratifying to be able to sign your books with a little message to the reader (especially for the kids). In less than a year, we have sold almost 30,000 copies of our books so far (with about 1300 reviews). However, none of those sales compare to the joy of an in-person experience.

We really feel like real authors now!

Will we do it again? Now that the pandemic is (hopefully) on its way out, we would love to do more in-person book signings. For us, it’s not about making money on the books. We already have more than we need. It’s about getting good financial information and education into the hands of young people who need it.

Side note: We’re thrilled to announce that Investing for Kids is coming out as an Audiobook in January, 2022! The publisher is Penguin Random House, and we have a wonderful narrator who’s well-respected in the FIRE space, Jennifer Mah.

 

What’s Next?

Now that our big summer road trip is over, and FinCon has come and gone, what’s next on our agenda? One great thing about FIRE is that your life becomes less scripted, and every new day is a bit of a surprise.

Many of our plans and goals revolve around travel. We hit our #50by50 goal of getting to all 50 states by age 50 this past summer. We also still have our goal of #60by60, which is to get to 60 countries by age 60.

We’ll probably start in Europe sometime next year. I would love to explore the Nordic countries and travel Europe by car, which we’ve never done.

Eventually, we want to get to all seven continents. We still have three to go: Africa, Australia, and Antarctica. When we get to Australia, it would be cool to scuba dive for the first time at the Great Barrier Reef.

What are some of your big plans for the coming year? Are there any “firsts” you would like to try?

Just remember, you’re never too old to have ambitious goals. Maybe this could be your year of saying yes too!