Our Editorial Team

Every guide here is written by a real person with real, hands-on experience in money and lending. No anonymous content mill, no recycled filler. Meet the people behind the words.

Marcus Bell Former Consumer-Lending Officer Marcus spent 15 years approving consumer loans. He writes plainly about what a lender really sees, and what you can change. View profile

Linda Hartwell Former Personal-Finance Journalist Linda reported on household money for two decades. She translates the data into what it means for one real household. View profile

Sofia Reyes Former Nonprofit Credit Counselor Sofia built budgets and payoff plans with families living paycheck to paycheck. She meets readers where they are. View profile

Who Writes for American's Money Guide

Money advice is only as good as the person giving it, so we are deliberate about who writes here. Our team is small on purpose. Between them, our writers have sat on the lender's side of the desk, reported on personal finance for a living, and counseled families through debt at a nonprofit. They have seen how borrowing decisions play out in real life, not just on paper, and that experience shows up in every guide.

What you will not find is anonymous, recycled filler churned out to fill a page. Each article carries a real name, a real background, and a point of view shaped by the work that person has actually done. When a guide explains how approval really works or where a product hides its costs, it is because someone on this team has watched it happen.

How We Keep Their Work Honest

Experience earns trust, but standards keep it. Every guide our writers publish is held to the same rules, so you can rely on what you read here.

Sourced from primary authorities. Claims and figures trace back to named sources like the CFPB, the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, and the FTC, with the agency and year stated so you can check them yourself.
Written in plain language. Our writers explain the jargon instead of hiding behind it, because advice you cannot follow is not advice at all.
The trade-offs said out loud. When a product has a real downside, a high cost or a rollover trap, they name it in the same breath as any benefit.
A no-shame tone. Needing fast cash is a situation, not a character flaw, and our writers never talk down to the people they are writing for.

Read Their Work

Browse straight-talking guides on borrowing, budgeting, saving, and getting out of debt in American's Money Guide.

Open the Money Guide About American Cash Relief