Oh hi there. It’s been a jam-packed 336 hours since I last posted. And I’M STOKED TO BE BACK. I honestly don’t even know where to start this week. Besides the fact that if you haven’t already noticed – I completely rebranded! New site, new logo, but same (adorable) me!

1. Thank you so much for your patience during my website transfer, meaning you had to go without a new blog post for two weeks. If it killed you as much as it killed me – I wish I could hug you right now.

2. I’ll never leave you again.

3. I will make it up to you with a lot of new and exciting additions starting in 2017 that I cannot wait to share.

Anyways, enough talk about something you can see and explore on your own! Let’s talk CPFC!

What the hell is CPFC you ask? Why that’s a beautiful acronym for Canadian Personal Finance Conference.

In order to attend this conference, I hopped on a plane and travelled to Toronto over the weekend.

And what did I get?

Well… I got to listen to incredible speakers, meet incredible bloggers, hug one of my readers (hi, Alicia!), and network with incredible organizations. It was amazing. And most of all, it made me fall in love with money all over again.

It made me realize this:

I blog about personal finance not as an expert, but as someone who knows about as much about money as the regular Canadian millennial. Which is why I find it easy to break information down for my (favorite, loyal) readers. Because I’m you. In an online bubble.

And after meeting with all of these bloggers and entrepreneurs constantly stating how important a niche is, I realized: my niche is being just like you. Relatable and fun. Making mistakes with her money. But learning how to become financially successful.

After all, that’s what we’re all looking for, right? A way to become financially successful.

Here were some of my favorite snapshots of information gained in quotes:

“The ratio of a house to my income is a joke compared to what you had when you were my age” – @rcarrick

UH YES #cpfc16#Millennial

— Alyssa (@MixedUpMoney) November 19, 2016

“Renting, even if your rent is more expensive than a mortgage payment, is still much cheaper than home ownership” – @rcarrick#cpfc16

— Bridget Casey (@beastgaard) November 19, 2016

Seriously loved @Holy_Potato‘s ideas on a multi-year lease and the potential to make a home in a rental property #cpfc16

— Alyssa (@MixedUpMoney) November 19, 2016

80% of @Wealthsimple clients are under 45 years old – @mkatchen#CPFC16

— Robin Taub CPA, CA (@robintaub) November 19, 2016

Waaaahhh? There’s $85 billion in credit card debt in Canada. #cpfc16@CPFCon

— Melissa Leong (@lisleong) November 19, 2016

.@preetbanerjee on our love affair with debt, “we don’t hate debt. We love it.” But he adds, “we need to hate it again.” #cpfc16

— CPFC (@CPFCon) November 19, 2016

“We’re more interested in teaching students about how to put baking soda into a volcano than about finance” – @Lesleyscorgie#cpfc16

— Alyssa (@MixedUpMoney) November 20, 2016

“Buy competitor’s products and compare to what you want to create,” says @beastgaard. She has spent over 10k on online products. #cpfc16

— Kerry K. Taylor (@squawkfox) November 20, 2016

Here are some of my favorite photos of the event:

And here is an in-depth look at my weekend:

Special shout-out to Des from Half-Banked for spending literally 24-7 with me, to Bridget from Money After Graduation for taking us under her wing, and to the following people I had the pleasure of meeting:

Tom from Canadian Finance Blog Justin & Kyle from Young & Thrifty The Lowest Rates Team Barry Choi from Money We Have Andrew from Family Money Plan

You’re all awesome.

and the list goes on and on…

If you haven’t already, feel free to sign up for my newsletter. I’ll be sending one magical email filled with gif’s out every two weeks with updates, extra articles I’ve been featured on/in, and probably embarrassing stories of mine.

Next Tuesday brings us back to the good ol’ regular posting schedule! So glad to be back.

Why do you enjoy reading about personal finance? Let me know in the comments!