Talking about finances is awful.

There are several things I'd rather talk about with a group of strangers before finances. However, I believe that as a part of the tech community, there's a moral responsibility to make sound personal financial decisions because you earn a comfortable salary. I have made several mistakes along my career, and I'm probably still making some. The goal here is to make it a bit easier for us to have these conversations.

I was the first in my family to graduate from college. One of my parents attended some college. They knew how to balance a budget, and they knew to max your employer's 401k matching program. Beyond that, there wasn't much of a plan.

I didn't have any financial literacy when I entered the tech industry. In fact, I fell prey to a corporate insurance provider, bought an insurance-investment type product and contributed to it for years! I've left money in my savings account because I was scared of the market.

At the end of this talk you will have a basic understanding of:

• The importance of planning, budgeting and saving
• Maximizing employer contributions
• What to look for in life insurance
• How to evaluate health insurance plans
• How to evaluate an index fund