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CEO & Co-founder
Andrew started his career at a Chicago hedge fund and quickly noticed a problem: the people who most needed financial guidance weren’t getting any. He co-founded Money Crashers in 2009 to fix that with free, plain-language money education. He’s been interviewed by MSNBC, CBS News, NBC News, and Fox News, and featured in Forbes and US News & World Report. Off the clock he plays ice hockey and tennis, and meditates. Andrew holds a bachelor’s in economics from Brown University.
Get a State Farm Medigap quote if you want a local agent to handle your application and an insurer that draws few complaints. It offers no household discount, so couples should price it against insurers that do. Before you apply, ask the agent about your state’s latest rate increase.
Stealth wealth means letting your spending stay quieter than your income. Every visible sign of money, from a new car to news of a windfall, invites loan requests, higher quotes, and scam pitches. Keep balances and big purchases to yourself, and put what you’d have spent on appearances into savings.
Check whether your credit card covers collision damage and theft on rental cars before your next trip. Many cards do, but only if you pay for the whole rental with that card and decline the counter’s damage waiver. Read your card’s benefits guide first to confirm the coverage, then skip the waiver’s daily charge.
Urgent care treats sprains, cuts that need stitches, and sinus and urinary tract infections for a fraction of what an emergency room charges, and your share of the bill is often smaller too. Look up the in-network urgent care centers near you now, so a weekend injury doesn’t send your family to the ER by default.
Purchase approvals only protect your kid’s own account. A phone, tablet, or game console signed in to yours bills your saved card, with only your purchase settings in the way. Before you hand one over, make sure no purchase on it, in-app ones included, goes through without your password or approval.
Applying for student loan forgiveness or a new repayment plan costs nothing on StudentAid.gov or through your loan servicer. Never pay a company to file for you, and walk away from anyone who charges upfront or monthly fees, promises fast forgiveness, or asks for your StudentAid.gov password.
When a charity you don’t know asks for money after a disaster, spend five minutes checking its ratings and complaint record before you give. If it asks you to pay by gift card, wire, crypto, or a payment app, walk away. If it checks out, donate through its own website, not the link or caller that reached you.
When a free trial asks for a card number, give it a virtual card number instead. Create one that works only with that merchant, then lock it or cap it at $1 as soon as the trial starts. Cancel in the service too, and the locked card usually declines any renewal you forget.
Most big-ticket items, like TVs and mattresses, follow the same sale calendar every year. If your purchase can wait a few months, write down the exact model and today’s price now, then buy in its category’s sale window instead of the week you start wanting it.
Money in a 529 plan grows untaxed and comes out tax-free for school costs, and many states also give you a tax break for putting it in. Before you open one, check whether your state’s break requires its own plan, then set up an automatic monthly contribution.
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