About Us
Welcome to SavingAdvice.com, a personal finance website that inspires and teaches different ways of saving money. SavingAdvice.com offers a little bit of everything from financial articles, discussion forums, blogs (you can even create your own), newsletters, calculators, and various other financial-related tools. You may have seen us in the Washington Post, Budget Living Magazine, The Street, Reddit, or even listened to us on the Radio.
This site is a community effort run by three of us although we try to keep it updated daily and feel we provide information that is competitive with sites that have a much larger staff. Tamila McDonald, and Amanda Blankenship do most of the content writing while James Hendrickson handles most of the forum work.
Amanda
Meet Amanda! She is a full-time stay-at-home mom. Her family recently welcomed their second child, a baby boy, into the world. She loves writing about various topics, including politics and personal finance. In her spare time, Amanda loves to play with her kids, make food from scratch, crochet, and read.
Tamila
Tamila McDonald is a U.S. Army veteran with 20 years of service, including five years as a military financial advisor. After retiring from the Army, she spent eight years as an AFCPE-certified personal financial advisor for wounded warriors and their families. Now she writes about personal finance and benefits programs for numerous financial websites.
Jenny
Jenny Smedra is an avid world traveler, ESL teacher, former archaeologist, and freelance writer. Choosing a life abroad had strengthened her commitment to finding ways to bring people together across language and cultural barriers. While most of her time is dedicated to working with children, she also enjoys good friends.
James
James Hendrickson is an internet entrepreneur, blogging junky, hunter, and personal finance geek. When he’s not lurking in coffee shops in Portland, Oregon, you’ll find him in the Pacific Northwest’s great outdoors. James has a master’s degree in Sociology from the University of Maryland at College Park and a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Earlham College. He loves individual stocks, bonds, and precious metals.
Max
Max K. Erkiletian began writing for newspapers while still in high school. He went on to become an award-winning journalist and co-founder of the print magazine Free Bird.
He has written for a wide range of regional and national publications as well as many online publications. That has afforded him the opportunity to interview a variety of prominent figures from former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank Paul Volker to Blues musicians Muddy Waters and B. B. King.
Max lives in Springfield, MO with his wife Karen and their two cats. He spends as much time as possible with his kids, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Drew
Drew Blankenship is a former Porsche technician who writes and develops content full-time. He lives in North Carolina, where he enjoys spending time with his wife and two children. While Drew no longer gets his hands dirty modifying Porsches, he still loves motorsport and avidly watches Formula 1.
Vicky
Vicky Monroe is a freelance personal finance and lifestyle writer. When she’s not busy writing about her favorite money saving hacks or tinkering with her budget spreadsheets, she likes to travel, garden, and cook healthy vegetarian meals.
Andrew
Andrew Tobias is the author of The Only Investment Guide You’ll Ever Need.
Shay
Shatel Huntley has a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Georgia State University. In her spare time, she works with special needs adults and travels the world. Her interests include traveling to off the beaten path destinations, shopping, couponing, and saving.
Catherine
Catherine is a tech-savvy writer who has focused on the personal finance space for more than eight years. She has a Bachelor’s in Information Technology and enjoys showcasing how tech can simplify everyday personal finance tasks like budgeting, spending tracking, and planning for the future. Additionally, she’s explored the ins and outs of the world of side hustles and loves to share what she’s learned along the way. When she’s not working, you can find her relaxing at home in the Pacific Northwest with her two cats or enjoying a cup of coffee at her neighborhood cafe.
