Proudly serving hardworking Americans across the country
Home American's Money Guide Tools About Contact
Linda Hartwell
Our Editorial Team

Linda Hartwell

Former Personal-Finance Journalist · Minneapolis, Minnesota

Turning Federal Reserve releases and CFPB reports into a clear picture of where you actually stand.

Debt Statistics Average Balances Savings Trends Consumer Rights

About Linda

Linda spent more than twenty years reporting on household money, first as a metro newspaper business reporter, then as a syndicated personal-finance columnist. She built a career on translating Federal Reserve releases, Census data, and CFPB reports into plain language for ordinary readers, and on getting the numbers right.

She fact-checks compulsively and footnotes everything. When Linda quotes a statistic, she names the agency, the survey, and the year, then tells you what the number does and does not mean for a household like yours. She is quick to flag when data is lagged, averaged in a way that hides variation, or easy to misread, because precision is how she earns your trust.

Her pieces tend to open with one concrete, sourced number that reframes an assumption, then unpack what that number means in real life. The point is never to scare you with a headline. It is to help you locate yourself honestly in the data and make a better decision because of it.

Articles by Linda

The Average Credit Card Balance by Age: Where Do You Stand? By the Numbers
May 20, 2026

The Average Credit Card Balance by Age: Where Do You Stand?

The overall average credit card balance in America was about $6,730. Before that makes you feel behind, here is the thing most articles bury: the average is misleading.

Read more
"Guaranteed Approval" and Other Red Flags Consumer Protection
May 2, 2026

"Guaranteed Approval" and Other Red Flags

Americans reported losing more than $12.5 billion to fraud in 2024. A chunk of it walked out the door through a single seductive promise: "guaranteed approval."

Read more
Could You Cover a $400 Emergency? What the Fed Data Shows By the Numbers
April 22, 2026

Could You Cover a $400 Emergency? What the Fed Data Shows

63 percent of American adults say they could cover a $400 emergency using cash or its equivalent. The old "40 percent can't afford it" line is years out of date.

Read more
How Much Does the Average American Have in Savings? By the Numbers
March 30, 2026

How Much Does the Average American Have in Savings?

The typical American household holds roughly $8,000 across all of its transaction accounts. That is the median, and the "average" you have seen quoted is several times higher.

Read more
Your Rights When a Debt Collector Calls (FDCPA) Consumer Protection
March 25, 2026

Your Rights When a Debt Collector Calls (FDCPA)

If a collector is calling ten times a day, threatening arrest, or hinting they will tell your boss, federal law puts hard limits on what they are allowed to do.

Read more
How Many Americans Are Actually in Debt? By the Numbers
March 20, 2026

How Many Americans Are Actually in Debt?

Roughly 77 out of every 100 American families carry some form of debt. If you have been wondering whether you are the odd one out, you are not.

Read more

Written by Our Team, for Yours

Every guide on this site is written by a real person with real experience in money, lending, and getting back on track. Read more, or see what options may be available to you.

Read the Money Guide Request Cash