By Jonel Thames Leake, CPCU, ASLI, AAI, CPIW, DAE, CLP
In my nearly forty years of IAIP membership, I have never had employer financial support to attend a conference or convention. Sometimes, part of the expenses to attend were covered due the position I held. But many times, the expenses were paid out of pocket. This year, I want to attend the Region I and the Region III conferences and the cost to attend will be on me.
In order to make it easier to pay for these events, I am opening up a conference club account. I have had a holiday account ever since I got married and find that having that amount of money available makes my holiday shopping much less painful to my budget. The small amount we put into the holiday account each pay period isn’t really noticeable, but the lump sum at the end makes a big difference.
Each week, I am going to deposit $25 into my conference account. This amount is small enough that, in my current financial situation, I won’t really miss it. In six months, I will have $600 which will help pay for my airfare to Savannah for the Region III conference. Three months after that, I will have another $300 to put towards my hotel room at the Region I conference.
I am also going to examine my discretionary spending and ask myself if I really want that coffee out or if I want to add that extra $5 into my conference fund. I don’t know about you, but I often look at my wallet and wonder where all my cash went. When I realize that I frittered it away on things I didn’t really need or even want, I regret it. I plan on being more mindful and will be asking myself which is more important – that coffee or the connections I make at conferences. Every time I choose my conference, I am going to add that money to my account to see it grow even faster.
If you have to pay some or all of your conference or convention expenses out of pocket, I hope you will join me in starting a conference/convention fund. Just think, if you save $25 a week, you will have $1250 by next year’s International Convention in Oklahoma! See you there!
Jonel Thames Leake, CPCU, ASLI, AAI, CPIW, DAE, CLP is a long-term member of IAIP and has attended numerous conferences and conventions throughout her membership. She has never regretted a penny that she has paid for any one of these. She is currently serving as the 2024-2025 International Vice President.