Lauren Graves

With a background in education and a passion for giving people confidence and clarity, Lauren Graves has spent the past four years as a personal finance content creator and marketer. She has written and edited for a number of different publications, exploring a variety of stories and products in the personal finance space and many others. She started writing reviews of CDs and savings accounts at the same time she began working as a freelance editor for Dotdash in 2019 and did both for a few years, along with countless other projects for blogs, email and social campaigns, websites, books and more. In 2021, she contracted for XLMedia before joining as a full-time SEO writer, focusing on product reviews and commercial content, in 2022.

She takes a research-first approach and is more than comfortable distilling everything from studies and academic publications to blogs and consumer forums into content that’s helpful and thorough. She has a particular interest in topics related to achieving financial freedom and independence including saving, budgeting, debt management and credit-building. Growing up, Lauren knew little about money other than that it could often be scary. Today, she believes that knowledge is power and hopes to help people see money not as an obstacle but as an opportunity. This is highlighted in her work, which informs first and advises second, giving readers the tools they need to help themselves and ask the right questions.

In 2019, Lauren received a BA in education with a concentration in language arts. Her many writing, linguistics and instructional classes today work in her favor–each article she works on is a lesson plan and each reader a student. She uses her teaching experience to inform her perspective and make her content more accessible, understandable and inclusive. Her work has appeared in Money Under 30, Investor Junkie, Doughroller, Saving for College and APY GUY. She’s been with Forbes Advisor as a deputy editor for the banking vertical since 2023. She lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan with her husband and dog where she fills her days with good food, good books, and good friends.

Expertise

• Banking
• Savings
• Budgeting
• Credit cards
• Sustainability

Achievements

• Four years of experience as a personal finance writer and editor
• Specializes in banking, budgeting, debt management and credit-building
• Featured in Money Under 30, Investor Junkie, Doughroller, Saving for College and APY GUY

Other Publications

• Best no minimum checking account 2023
• What’s the Best Meal Kit Delivery Service in 2023?
• 4 best robo-advisors with tax-loss harvesting
• Best banks in Canada
• 25+ Best Debit Cards for Kids & Teens [December, 2022]
• What are Private Student Loan Repayment Plans?

Education

University of Michigan
B.A. in education with a concentration in language arts