The Rockstar Finance site is giving away a free ticket to the 2017 Financial Blogger Conference, which will take place Oct. 25-28 in Dallas.

Someone has to win. Why shouldn’t it be you?

Note: You don’t have to be a personal finance writer to enjoy FinCon17! In fact, you don’t even have to be a writer at all. Some people go because they’re interested in topics like FIRE (financial independence/retire early), paying down student loans, conquering consumer debt, video production, podcasting and awards travel.

But if you are a writer, or planning to be one, you’ll learn plenty about that, too.

 

At each conference people present on subjects such as writing well, smart use of social media, finding your voice, coming up with ideas, marketing your work, creating online courses (which is how I came to build Write A Blog People Will Read) and finding freelance jobs.

And speaking of freelance: Each year the conference is brimming with people who are looking for writers. Some are from companies in the PF industry and others are bloggers too busy to do all their own work. At the 2016 conference there was a specific “Freelancer’s Marketplace” – a chance for writers to show their stuff and leave with assignments.

That’s the good news. The bad news: The winner will get in for free but will be responsible for his or her own travel and hotel costs.

 

Making FinCon17 affordable

You’ve got months to hunt down an affordable plane ticket, though. (Or maybe you live close enough to drive or take public transit.) As for lodgings, the conference organizers put up a spreadsheet of attendees who are looking for roommates. I’ve used this service myself and it’s a great way to cut hotel costs in half.

Breakfasts and lunches are provided, and snacks are generally set out in mid-afternoon. Food is often available at evening receptions, too. Since I speak at FinCon each year, I’ve developed the following frugal food habits:

• Pick up goodies in the Expo Hall, where many exhibitors set out snacks
• Bring along some durable edibles such as instant oatmeal (use the in-room coffee maker for hot water), nuts, dried fruit, and whole-grain crackers or pita bread
• Scope out supermarkets and drugstores ahead of time, and buy a few things (cheese, deli meat, fruit) to keep in my hotel room’s fridge

Last year a FinCon attendee posted about a short-term deal from Whole Foods, which as I recall was something like “$20 off your first delivery.” She had a bunch of healthy stuff delivered and wound up paying little more than the delivery fee.

Others have posted about deals on parking, transit and more. Last year it took place in San Diego and at least one person noted that the conference hotel was only a mile from the airport, so why not walk?

The moral of the story: Keep an eye on the FinCon17 Twitter feed and Facebook page and you’ll hear about ways to save on food and more. That said, you’ll be almost too busy to eat anyway. (Besides, such costs go under the heading of “business expenses” at tax time.)

The winner will be chosen on March 22. Apply now! If you win, e-mail me at SurvivingAndThriving (at) live (dot) com to let me know and we can make plans to say hello in person at the conference.

In honor of the conference I’m posting a short-term coupon code for the writing course – and it’s a big one. From now until the end of the day March 31 you can get 50 percent off the cover price of Write A Blog People Will Read. Use this link and enter the discount code FINCON17 at checkout (via PayPal or credit card).

Good luck, and I hope to see you in Dallas.