Bloggers Give Back…#FINCON11 & Love Drop

I’m sitting in bed, coping with the nuclear followout of my impaired immune system (yes, I managed to get sick, wth.) reflecting on the last week of my life. I went to the first ever Financial Blogger Conference that happened just north of the good city of Chicago with about 250+ other dymanic, hardworking, innovative and fun people.

I met some of the coolest people, what a gift it was to hear their voices, see their faces and shake their hands (with a few hugs) after reading their words & perusing Twitter feeds for months. I’m not going to recap the whole thing- I think that’s been excellently by others, I do want to highlight one of my favorite parts of FINCON11- Our work with Love Drop at Phil’s Friends. We spent our first evening at the conference volunteering at Phil’s Friends. This organization, works to send out cards, carepacks and hope to cancer patients all over the country.  Our FinCon inspired Love Drop was captured on video…

Love Drop is one of the best parts of being a blogger. I can’t remember how I found them- most likely, when I started Frugal Beautiful I saw it in the side bar of another financial blogger and I was totally smitten with Love Drop. Each month, a new family is chosen and the fundraising begins. Nate & JMoney are usually working back to back, running one project as another is in the works, it’s a total labor of love and such a tremendous effort to pull off, everyone who coordinates these drops are dedicated and tenacious!

I have done two fundraisers since I started FruBu- one for the Northern Illinois Pug Rescue who brought me Ralph and another in memory of my friend Kassie who passed away last year. Those small projects were a stretch, and I can’t imagine how the Love Drop team manages to pull off such big gives when I know how hard it was to raise $500 at a time! Thanks guys for all you do, you’ve got me thinking about my next move- and I know that move needs to incorporate more giving.

As for my friends I reunited with, or met for the first time at FINCON- thank you. Being around so many people doing such phenomenal things with their blogs, using new technologies to express themselves and finding new audiences to reach and teach was nothing short of inspirational. It’s amazing- in other circles, there might be a feeling of competition, but at FINCON the bloggers were so genuine, helpful and supportive. Keep up the awesome work, and know I’m here if ever you need me- thanks for the laughs, the drinks and for dancing with me! 🙂

And if you weren’t at the Financial Blogger Conference- you need to check out some of the stellar attendees:

The Financialite, SoOverDebt, Daily Money Shot, Careful Cents, The Jenny Pincher, PFFirewall, Thousandaire, Consumerism Commentary, Kylie Ofiu, the guys of Budgetable, The Conscious Spender, The Family CEO, Afford Anything, Budgeting In the Fun Stuff, FGSW, Sustainable Life…and if I’m forgetting anyone else, I apologize I have flu brain and I probably need a nap!

It’s official, I want to somehow win an iPad (might be an upcoming campaign, who knows!) and I really want my blog to be more philanthropic. As of today I’m “unemployed” as I finish up graduate school, and I need to do some serious thinking.

Last month, a friend and mentor of mine was diagnosed with breast cancer, yesterday Steve Jobs passed away (you can see my post about my favorite speech of all time which he gave at Stanford in 2005), and being around so many dynamic people at FINCON is a solid reminder that life is too short, too fun and too beautiful to waste doing anything less than fulfilling.

I have a LOT of thinking to do before I turn the page to the next chapter of my life, thanks for being a part of it. 🙂