Money Mastermind After Hours: Shining Moments, Legal Drugs, and Plutus Awards Politics

In honor of April Fools’ Day, we invited five extra people to join us on the show to talk about money jokers. We talked about attempts to part you from your hard-earned cash, whether it’s expensive financing at the car dealership or account maintenance fees at your bank. However, the real fun was after the show, when we stayed on to talk bull about a variety of subjects. Here’s a little taste of what goes on during the Money Mastermind Show when we’re “off the record.” (Although, as a journalist, I have to tell you that you are never truly off the record.)

Shining Moments

We joked that Adam Hagerman’s Internet dropped out just as it was his turn to plug his site, AdamHagerman.com, and talk about some of the cool things he’s up to. Adam made it back on — but only after we had wrapped up the live show. He lamented that he missed his moment to shine. And, really, doing these types of shows, whether they are video shows like ours or podcasts with audio only, is a good way to reach new audiences and get your name out there. Go visit Adam’s site; he has good information since he’s a legit CFP, unlike the rest of us who aren’t actually qualified to tell you what to do with your money.

Go To Colorado — It’s Not JUST About the Pot!

There was also a good discussion about marijuana, since it’s legal in states like Colorado now. Other states seem poised to follow suit. At the very least, many states are considering legalizing medical uses for pot. Michelle from Shop My Closet Project insisted that Colorado was awesome without the pot. She then proceeded to tell us that she would love to come on and talk about investing in pot.

It’s actually not a bad idea. Talking about investing in pot, I mean. There are a lot of opportunities, including investing in entrepreneurs at various stages along the production process. Growers, dispensaries, and others involved in the process have the potential to offer you decent returns for your money. Whether or not YOU should invest in pot is entirely up to you, and your individual risk tolerance. Before you make an investing decision, be sure to do your due diligence, and speak with a knowledgeable financial professional.

We also talked a very little bit about how there are other things to do in Colorado besides smoke pot. After all, it’s an outdoor haven. There’s hiking, biking, and plenty of other things to do. And when you are sore from all that activity, it’s easy to buy some pot to take the edge off. Just remember: You don’t want to be caught transporting it out of Colorado (or Washington, or any other state where pot is allowed). Once you leave a pot haven, you are subject to prosecution.

The Politics of the Plutus Awards

Our own Glen at Free From Broke was the Susan Lucci of the Plutus Awards for YEARS — always a finalist but not clinching the trophy. FinCon14 changed all that. Free From Broke won for “Best Kept Secret,” and we had a good time talking about how his blog won because no one actually knows about it.

This brought up some interest in how the Plutus Awards are determined. It’s not really a secret. There’s a Blogger Panel. Anyone can apply to be a part of it, and we try to be as inclusive as possible. In 2014, there were 50 bloggers on the panel, and we hope to have a bigger panel this year. The reality is that there are more diverse winners when the panel is bigger, and we like that. For FinCon14, only about 1/3 of the finalists appeared in more than one category. Kraig Mathias from Create My Independence thought we should add more categories to the mix, but wasn’t sure what to add. We’re open to suggestions.

The high point of the conversation, however, was when someone pointed out that we needed a category for non-Christian religious blogs. Those of us on the Plutus Planning Committee (Tom, Athena from Money Smart Latina, and me) were quick to point out that the category is actually “Best Religious Blog.” We’d love to see faith traditions other than Christian represented, especially since we know that there are other faith traditions in the personal finance community. Stephanie Halligan from You Deserve More announced that she is ready to start an agnostic money blog and submit it under the “religious” category.

While you can’t watch our After Hours conversation, you can see our lively discussion about money products to avoid below. And remember to tune in every Wednesday at 10 pm Eastern for lively money discussion about the things that matter the most to you.

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