The 5th Annual Plutus Awards: Recap

Another FinCon is in the books, along with another Plutus Awards. Each year, the Plutus Awards grows bigger, requiring the help of more volunteers, and featuring a more interesting show.This year, the Plutus Awards was the last event of FinCon, and it was an honor to close out the conference by recognizing some of the best of the personal finance blogosphere.

We were sad to see Kevin McKee go as our emcee, but Ashley Jacobs from Wise Bread did a great job taking on the role. Not only that, but we received an encore of her rap skills from last year as she performed, live with Matt Giovanisci, the parody “Can’t Get Enough.” Matt’s performance was high energy, and a number of Plutus Awards audience members rushed to the front to dance in front of the stage. Because the music video was released ahead of time, the audience was prepared to sing along, and it was a lot of fun — and a great way to kick off the show.

Ashley was a great emcee, filling her role with poise and humor. The presenters were great as well, telling jokes and having fun on the stage. There were some great moments as winners came up to receive their trophies and collect their gift bags.

One of the great pleasures of the evening was to watch Jim Wang, the founder of Bargaineering, receive a Lifetime Achievement Award. Along with his fellow finalists, Jim has done a lot for the personal finance blogging community. He is one of the earliest personal finance bloggers and, even though he sold his site some time ago, Jim has remained active in the community, and continues to be involved in finance-related projects.

Another nice touch for the Plutus Awards was the “community updates” video shared by Ashley. Many of our peers have experienced changes in their lives this year. From weddings to childbirths to cross-country moves, life outside the blogosphere goes on. Sharing these moments, though, allows us to make deeper connections in the community, and that’s what the Plutus Awards ceremony is all about.

As the Awards show, which was sponsored by USAA, drew to a close, the anticipation built to see who would win the Blog of the Year and People’s Choice awards. Both of these are prestigious awards that many in the personal finance blogging community are interested in learning the results of. Blog of the Year went to Mr. Money Mustache. His unique brand of personal finance blogging has engendered rabid fans, and it’s no real surprise to that he won this award. The People’s Choice award is determined strictly by popular vote, and this year’s winner was Financial Mentor.

Overall, we’re pleased about the support from the personal finance blogging community, as well as the partnership with Philip Taylor and the entire FinCon crew. This is another one for the books, and we hope to see you all again next year.

Our official photographer for the evening was Kevin Cash from Phroogal. Check out his pictures from the ceremony below. In a few weeks, we’ll have videos from the night as well.