About Joanna
My focus on college and personal finance has evolved. I started out as a parenting and family travel writer, but I'm a money nut and a former first-generation college student who got through college on financial aid and weekend work. College is more complex now, and way too many families go deep into debt for it. That's why I write about what to know.
I also cover things like credit cards, insurance, 529 plans, retirement, debt management, budgeting, and developmental transitions such as young adults flying the coop, empty nesters, and seniors moving into care facilities. And I love diving into a good profile.
Before freelancing, I worked as a technical writer and editor for an engineering firm. I have a BA in anthropology and an MA in English and live in Northwest Washington near the Canadian border.
Fun fact: In my early 20s, I spent four years traveling abroad through twenty countries, working as I went. Turns out I was something of a unicorn -- young Americans didn't travel this way then. Living and working abroad shaped me, and I bring that same curiosity and flexibility to the writing I do.