Well Kept Wallet’s team comes from all walks of life, but we share one thing: a passion for personal finance and for helping people improve their finances. Every article is written by someone with real experience in the topic and reviewed before it’s published. Read how we work in our Editorial Guidelines.
Leadership
Deacon Hayes / Founder and Editor in Chief
Deacon started Well Kept Wallet in 2010 after paying off $52,000 of debt in 18 months. He has 16 years of experience in personal finance, was formerly a licensed financial planner, and wrote You Can Retire Early! He has been featured in Yahoo Finance, US News & World Report and CNN Money, and he reviews articles before they’re published.
Senior writers
Josh Patoka / Senior Writer
Josh paid off $80,000 of consumer debt and writes about making money, saving money and investing. He has a BA in International Studies from the Virginia Military Institute and has contributed to Fox Business, Forbes Advisor and USA Today Blueprint.
Laurie Blank / Senior Writer
Laurie is a personal finance writer and licensed Realtor. Her work has appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Seattle Times and Bankrate.
Writers
Sarah Sharkey / Writer
Sarah holds an MS in Management from the University of Florida Hough School of Business. Her work has been featured by USA Today, Business Insider and Bankrate.
Veneta Lusk / Writer
Veneta is an award-winning writer with a BA in journalism from UNC Chapel Hill. She covers making money, saving money, frugal living and freelancing, and has been featured in MSN, The Penny Hoarder and Debt.com.
Tim Lemke / Writer
Tim writes about business and investing and began his career as a reporter at The Washington Times and Washington Business Journal. He has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and American Studies from the University of Maryland.
Amy Beardsley / Writer
Amy has bachelor’s degrees in business administration and legal studies and writes about budgeting and getting out of debt. Her work has appeared in The Huffington Post, Money Tips and Dollar Sprout.
Claire Tak / Writer
Claire is a writer and content strategist who previously led content for FinTech companies in New York City and San Francisco. Her work has appeared on FOX Business, Bloomberg and Forbes.
Samantha Hawrylack / Writer
Samantha is an entrepreneur and freelancing coach with a BS in Finance and an MBA. She has been featured in MarketWatch, Quicken Loans and USA Today Blueprint.
TJ Porter / Writer
TJ is a Boston-based writer who covers investing, credit and banking. His work has appeared on Credit Karma, DollarSprout and My Bank Tracker.
Jamie Johnson / Writer
Jamie writes about personal finance and small business and studied Psychology at the University of Kansas. She also writes for Credit Karma, Quicken Loans and Bankrate.
Erin Gobler / Writer
Erin is a personal finance writer in Madison, Wisconsin, who covers investing and mortgages. Her work has been published in Fox Business, NextAdvisor and The Balance.
Michael Leonard / Writer
Michael is a personal finance writer and the author of three books, including Advice for My Younger Self. His writing has been featured in Lifehacker and The Financial Diet.
Past contributors
We’re grateful to past contributors Jackie Lam, Kayla Sloan and Lindsay VanSomeren.