Constance is a former editor at Credit.com. Prior to joining us, she worked as a senior digital producer for CNBC, and digital producer for NBC Nightly News. Her work has been featured on news sites including MSN, USA Today, The Atlanta Journal Constitution, MSNBC, Fox Business News and The Huffington Post.
There’s no truer adage than “everybody eats,” and most of what we eat from day to day is pretty pedestrian; just fuel to nourish our bodies so we can get on to the next task. But every now and then there’s a food that makes us pause and appreciate more than the flavors. It becomes... Read More
If you’re an adventurous traveler and eater, this list is for you. We’ve rounded up a list of restaurants that are among the remotest, have the best views, are among the most unusual and have some of the best food the world over, and put them into one tidy list. Some are expensive and offer... Read More
[UPDATE: Some offers mentioned below have expired. You can view the current offers from our partners here — Gold Delta Skymiles card, Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard and American Express Platinum Card. DISCLOSURE: Cards from our partners are mentioned below.] Modern-day travel may be fast, but unless you’re doing it in a premium class, it’s typically less... Read More
Farmers markets certainly aren’t anything new, but they have seen a major renaissance over the last several years, with literally thousands popping up all over the country, particularly in urban areas. That’s great news for folks who love fresh produce and supporting local — or at least local-ish — businesses and farmers. (Don’t know where... Read More
Creating a business plan is an essential step in getting a new company off the ground. Writing this document helps founders not only evaluate their goals, but also communicate them to other people, especially investors. A good business plan can be the difference between funding your dreams on business credit cards and personal savings or... Read More
If you’re planning a beach getaway this year, you may still be wondering where you want to go and what destination will offer the most bang for your buck. Or sand for your dollars. Or just sand dollars. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of 50 of our favorite destinations from all over the country.... Read More
Have you ever been on a website and noticed the site owner or another user has written out their email address in some variation of the following? Name (at) domain dot com If you wondered if the person was just averse to using symbols, you may be interested to know it’s actually a decent method for... Read More
Going on vacation is amazing, but sometimes the process of getting to your destination can be less than enjoyable. Traffic jams, airport security, flight delays and other annoyances can not only put you in a foul mood, but can wreck your entire trip. Sadly, you can’t control some of these things, but there are plenty... Read More
If you’ve had a loved one die in military service, you especially understand the importance of Memorial Day, which honors the fallen men and women who served the United States. Whether you’ve lost a loved one or not, doing something to recognize the sacrifices of our fallen heroes this year can be a wonderful way... Read More
If money’s tight, you may think it’s hurting your social life, especially if you’re turning down invitations because you can’t seem to make ends meet. This scenario is all-too-prevalent among recent college grads, and no wonder. Student loan repayments, rent, car payments, a wardrobe for work and other bills can add up. (Here are tips... Read More
Jeanne Kelly
Jim Wang
Mia Taylor
Jill Krasny
Clark Randall
Karin Price Mueller
Scott Sheldon
Tracie Fobes
Michael Schreiber
Kali Geldis
Brian Acton
Nick Jarman
Cheryl Lock
Adam Levin
Christine DiGangi
Brian Kuhn
Jeff Rose
Gerri Detweiler
Trae Bodge
Brooke Niemeyer
Bob Sullivan
Constance Brinkley-Badgett
Myles Ma
Paige DiFiore
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Hello, Reader!
Thanks for checking out Credit.com. We hope you find the site and the journalism we produce useful. We wanted to take some time to tell you a bit about ourselves.
Our People
The Credit.com editorial team is staffed by a team of editors and reporters, each with many years of financial reporting experience. We’ve worked for places like the New York Times, American Banker, Frontline, TheStreet.com, Business Insider, ABC News, NBC News, CNBC and many others. We also employ a few freelancers and more than 50 contributors (these are typically subject matter experts from the worlds of finance, academia, politics, business and elsewhere).
Our Reporting
We take great pains to ensure that the articles, video and graphics you see on Credit.com are thoroughly reported and fact-checked. Each story is read by two separate editors, and we adhere to the highest editorial standards. We’re not perfect, however, and if you see something that you think is wrong, please email us at editorial team [at] credit [dot] com,
The Credit.com editorial team is committed to providing our readers and viewers with sound, well-reported and understandable information designed to inform and empower. We won’t tell you what to do. We will, however, do our best to explain the consequences of various actions, thereby arming you with the information you need to make decisions that are in your best interests. We also write about things relating to money and finance we think are interesting and want to share.
In addition to appearing on Credit.com, our articles are syndicated to dozens of other news sites. We have more than 100 partners, including MSN, ABC News, CBS News, Yahoo, Marketwatch, Scripps, Money Magazine and many others. This network operates similarly to the Associated Press or Reuters, except we focus almost exclusively on issues relating to personal finance. These are not advertorial or paid placements, rather we provide these articles to our partners in most cases for free. These relationships create more awareness of Credit.com in general and they result in more traffic to us as well.
Our Business Model
Credit.com’s journalism is largely supported by an e-commerce business model. Rather than rely on revenue from display ad impressions, Credit.com maintains a financial marketplace separate from its editorial pages. When someone navigates to those pages, and applies for a credit card, for example, Credit.com will get paid what is essentially a finder’s fee if that person ends up getting the card. That doesn’t mean, however, that our editorial decisions are informed by the products available in our marketplace. The editorial team chooses what to write about and how to write about it independently of the decisions and priorities of the business side of the company. In fact, we maintain a strict and important firewall between the editorial and business departments. Our mission as journalists is to serve the reader, not the advertiser. In that sense, we are no different from any other news organization that is supported by ad revenue.
Visitors to Credit.com are also able to register for a free Credit.com account, which gives them access to a tool called The Credit Report Card. This tool provides users with two free credit scores and a breakdown of the information in their Experian credit report, updated twice monthly. Again, this tool is entirely free, and we mention that frequently in our articles, because we think that it’s a good thing for users to have access to data like this. Separate from its educational value, there is also a business angle to the Credit Report Card. Registered users can be matched with products and services for which they are most likely to qualify. In other words, if you register and you find that your credit is less than stellar, Credit.com won’t recommend a high-end platinum credit card that requires an excellent credit score You’d likely get rejected, and that’s no good for you or Credit.com. You’d be no closer to getting a product you need, there’d be a wasted inquiry on your credit report, and Credit.com wouldn’t get paid. These are essentially what are commonly referred to as "targeted ads" in the world of the Internet. Despite all of this, however, even if you never apply for any product, the Credit Report Card will remain free, and none of this will impact how the editorial team reports on credit and credit scores.
Your Stories
Lastly, much of what we do is informed by our own experiences as well as the experiences of our readers. We want to tell your stories if you’re interested in sharing them. Please email us at story ideas [at] credit [dot] com with ideas or visit us on Facebook or Twitter.
Thanks for stopping by.
- The Credit.com Editorial Team