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Washington DC, FinCon, Planes, and Dinosaurs!

September 2, 2019 by Mr. 1500 Days 11 Comments

Yeah, I still have to write the conclusion to my August Fitness Challenge. Last week was insane (I came thisclose to buying a house and then I didn’t), so I didn’t have time to write. I’ll fill you in on fitness and lost homes next week.

I’m in Washington DC for FinCon. I love DC! The first thing I did upon arriving was jet over to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Smithsonian to look at beautiful flying machines:

The SR-71. Quite possibly the most awesome flying machine of all time. Also note the space shuttle photobomb.
Space Shuttle Discovery
The F-35 (Joint Strike Fighter)

But this post isn’t about museums and planes; it’s about you.

FinCon used to be a conference just for financial media creators, but now there’s a Community Pass. The Community Pass is for folks who aren’t creators; for those who just want to hang out. I find this fascinating. Are there any other conferences where folks who aren’t interested in the core conference material come for the hallway conversations? I doubt it. But it makes sense too.

I feel that many of us are lost souls. Ask your uncle what his net worth is at your next family gathering and you’ll probably get a dirty look. Money is more taboo than politics or sex. However, I’ve had people in the financial independence community tell me what their net worth is 5 minutes after I’ve met them. And there’s a good reason for this.

We realize that while money is important, it’s also just the starting point, not the end. Here is how you should do it:

  1. Get a good job and hustle a little.
  2. Learn how to invest and pile money away as early as possible.
  3. While you’re doing 1 and 2, never forget to enjoy the journey. Continue to live simply, but live an eclectic, thoughtful, and driven life. Enjoy the journey.
  4. Once you’ve achieved your FIRE number, you’re in a position to optimize your life for 100% happiness. If you love your job, stay there. If not, quit. Do what you love from this point on.

So money is important, but it’s really just a key that unlocks the handcuffs and lets us live with a little more freedom.

It’s also true that if you have money in common, you probably have a lot of other shit in common. We’re a crowd that embraces:

  • DIY (let’s build some shit!)
  • board games
  • good conversation
  • backyard parties
  • work (on our own terms)
  • exercise
  • mental and physical challenges
  • travel
  • family

Sometimes, it’s hard to find people to relate to. I know from experience.

Normally, I’m an introverted weirdo. There are people I’ve known all of my life that I’m still uncomfortable around. However, get me in a crowd of a bunch of money nerds and I won’t shut up.

That’s why I go to FinCon. And that’s why the Community Pass exists. We’re all looking for meaningful connection.

See You At FinCon?

So anyway, I’m in DC this week at FinCon. If you’re here too, I hope you say “Hi!” Besides planes, I like dinosaurs too so I made up a shirt so you can find me:

#superdork

I have extra shirts with me. You can’t buy one, but I’ll give you one.

Ummm, anyone?

**crickets**

Sigh.

See you in DC!

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Filed Under: FinCon Tagged With: dinosaurs, FinCon, Smithsonian

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Dave @ Accidental FIRE says

    September 2, 2019 at 2:55 pm

    Looking forward to catching up in person Carl, and discussing your artistic endeavors 🙂

    Reply
  2. Brad Finn says

    September 2, 2019 at 3:23 pm

    Needing that shirt is an understatement!!

    Reply
    • Mr. 1500 Days says

      September 2, 2019 at 5:45 pm

      You’ve got it brotha!

      Reply
  3. A Purple Life says

    September 2, 2019 at 4:28 pm

    I would be honored to wear one of those shirts. Fantastic reasons to go to FinCon. See you soon!
    A Purple Life recently posted…Balancing Overthinking And Apathy At WorkMy Profile

    Reply
    • Mr. 1500 Days says

      September 2, 2019 at 5:45 pm

      I’ll save one for you! Thanks for asking!

      Reply
  4. Adam says

    September 3, 2019 at 6:24 am

    I live a mile and a half from the city line, but this week is absolutely nuts so I can’t make it. Find some Salvadorean and Ethiopian food while you’re out here — they’re amazing. Hope you enjoy our little town!

    Reply
    • Mr. 1500 Days says

      September 3, 2019 at 12:00 pm

      Bummer! You can’t make every party!

      And I’m game for food…

      Reply
  5. Cathleen cooks stuff says

    September 3, 2019 at 2:27 pm

    I can’t make it either…would have been convenient since my agency is right there in Alexandria (there’s a free inventor museum that’s kinda small in the main building. Plus you can buy astronaut ice cream there. It’s terrible). If you give away dinosaur shirts won’t other people be mistaken for you?

    Reply
  6. B.C. @ FrugalWheels says

    September 3, 2019 at 2:32 pm

    Rats, I nearly pulled the trigger on going, but decided to wait until next year and plan it out a little better and take advantage of early bird pricing. It’s in Long Beach, Calif. next year and I haven’t been to California, so planning to build a whole vacation around it. Too bad because there’s a bunch people I would love to meet! Have fun!
    B.C. @ FrugalWheels recently posted…My ridiculous, extremely frugal lifestyleMy Profile

    Reply
  7. Steve says

    September 8, 2019 at 8:39 am

    One of these days I”ll make it out there. Twitter was exploding with FinCon updates all week. Sounded like a blast!
    Steve recently posted…I’m Finally Becoming A Landlord…My Profile

    Reply
  8. The Frug says

    September 11, 2019 at 6:57 am

    Great catching up at Fincon. Thanks for the offer of that awesome shirt and that semi-awesome Cranberry sour beer. Should’ve grabbed that shirt but I was traveling light. Glad some others got one. You’re right about FinCon. I already grabbed my ticket for next year. See you then.
    The Frug recently posted…The Freedom of Limited OptionsMy Profile

    Reply

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Freedom!

My goal was to build a portfolio of $1,000,000 by February of 2017; 1500 days from the birth of this blog (January 1, 2013). And hey look, I’ve since retired!

Investments only (primary home excluded)
1/1/13 (The Start): $586,043
1/1/14 (1 Yr Later): $869,635
1/1/15 (2 Yrs Later): $987,351
1/1/16 (3 Yrs Later): $1,057,961
1/1/17 (4 Yrs Later): $1,257,128
1/1/18 (5 Yrs Later): $1,527,701
1/1/19 (6 Yrs Later): $1,549,440
1/1/20 (7 Yrs Later): $2,035,040*
1/1/21 (8 Yrs Later): $3,379,746**
1/1/22 (9 Yrs Later): $4,762,642
1/1/23 (10 Yrs Later): $3,112,821

2023: Investments only
1/1: $3,112,821

Overall
2023 investment gains: $0
Investment gains since 1/1/2013: $2,526,778
Net worth***: $3,342,821

* The big jump between 2019 and 2020 was partly because we bought another home, but kept the previous (much more expensive) one as a rental. We have since sold it.

** Tesla.

*** Includes our primary home equity in addition to our investment portfolio.

Finally, we still have about $290,000 in mortgage debt (which I love!). No regrets about the debts!

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