Profiles

Daniel P. Ray

I'm Daniel P. Ray, CreditCard.com's editor in chief, and I've been writing and editing consumer-oriented stories about personal finance -- especially debt-related issues -- for about 12 years. Before joining CreditCards.com in July, 2007, I was an editor at Bankrate.com, including six years as editor in chief.

I started out, fresh out of the University of Missouri, as a cub reporter at the Miami Herald, eventually spending 10 years there in various reporting and editing roles, covering everything from local politics to the cop shop to the courthouse. After that came five years as an editor for the music magazine, Country Weekly, where I learned to love Merle but failed miserably at the Electric Slide.

The latter job is also where I got my first taste of this new thing called the Internet. Back then, it wasn't the Internet we know now; the browser hadn't been invented yet. But I found it fascinating that with a few UUNET commands, I could browse the library of the University of Stockholm. And no, I don't speak a word of Swedish.

Along the way in my (now mostly) online journalism career, I picked up some nice hardware, including four "Best in Business" plaques from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, and one from the Society of Professional Journalists.

My first credit card came at Mizzou, where it was at first just a piece of plastic that came with a free hat. The debt that I eventually racked up with it lasted far longer than the hat. Now, except for occasional splurges on music or vintage bicycle parts, I handle them much more responsibly.

Julie Sherrier

I clearly remember my first credit card. I was working as an editorial assistant in New York, making a pitiful entry-level salary. I could barely afford food and rent, and desperately needed a wardrobe update. So, I applied for an American Express card. Thus began my relationship with credit and debt (and shoes).

I am a managing editor at CreditCards.com. I've worked as a writer and editor in New York and Austin. In my free time, when not relaxing at Barton Springs, I've edited numerous books and taught journalism to students at the University of Texas. I'm a graduate of the journalism program at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

The number of credit cards in my wallet has been on the decline over the years as I got smarter. I am now down to one general purpose Visa card, the essential Home Depot card and a Sears card for emergency appliance meltdowns.

Matt Schulz

I'm a managing editor at CreditCards.com, and as I neared my first day on the job, it dawned on me just how massive an impact credit cards have had on my life since I began college.

First, there were the ignorance-is-bliss years of overspending on things like bootleg CDs and Italian dinners. Those good times led to the shocked-into-sobriety years of using every spare cent I had to pay off my debt. That difficult but necessary time eventually gave way to the making-them-work-for-me years during which we financed several trips by paying for virtually everything with a credit card just to get the miles and then -- usually -- paying the balance off at the end of each month. I'm still in that phase, though having a young son means the trips are much less frequent and much less exotic.

I have a journalism degree from the mighty University of Texas and have reported or edited for such publications as American Banker and the Houston Chronicle. Most recently, I've focused on the web, helping lead news sites like KXAN.com and Austin360.com and helping clients' businesses while at a high-tech marketing agency.

Most of my spare time is devoted to my son, though I still make time for date nights with my wife and obsessing about everything from politics and movies to writing and fantasy sports.

Connie Prater

My official title is senior writer at CreditCards.com. In fact, I consider myself a savvy consumer, a mom, a penny-pincher/tightwad and an above average Scrabble player.

I have been a reporter and editor for print and online news organizations for more than 25 years. I was on the team of Miami Herald journalists that won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting in a series of articles on voter fraud in the Miami city elections.

As a journalist, I have written about consumer affairs, social services for the working poor and health and medicine. Over the years, I've developed a knack for explaining complex topics in simple terms "that my mother can understand."

In April 2010, the Society of American Business Editors and Writers recognized my coverage of the credit card reform law with its Best in Business Award for creative use of online media.

I found out firsthand what identity theft victims go through in protecting their good names and credit ratings when my purse was stolen several years ago. I can share my tips on protecting your privacy and what not to haul around in those big purses and handbags.

I have a bachelor's degree in journalism from Northwestern University and a master's in business administration from Barry University in Miami Shores, Fla. In addition to the Miami Herald, I have been fortunate enough to work at the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News and iVillage.com.

What's in my wallet? A Visa credit card is on the top of the pile as the most frequently used plastic in my wallet.

Jeremy Simon

A Texas transplant enjoying live music, barbecue and everything else Austin has to offer, I spent most of my formative years in the Northeast. I graduated with an English degree from Vassar College, before taking a job with Thomson Financial in New York City, where I wrote about stock markets from the same building where Bud Fox worked in "Wall Street" (he strolled through the lobby, that is).

Since moving to Austin, my writing career has included an internship in the editorial department of Texas Monthly and the chance to tackle freelance assignments for several local publications, before working for CreditCards.com as a staff writer from 2006-2011.

Emily Starbuck Gerson

I'm the former editorial assistant at CreditCards.com, and no, I don't like coffee (it's a family name). Upon finishing college, I was horrified to learn how little my friends and I knew about credit and personal finance. It seems our dear parents forgot to mention a few things, so I have made it my mission to help those in the dark understand the ins and outs of credit, debt, identity theft and other vital issues.

I graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in Radio-TV-Film, and with what I like to call "an unofficial major in journalism." I convinced the J-school to let me take a news writing and editing course, I interned at two magazines, was the editor of a student newspaper for over a year and have done lots of freelance writing and editing. Before joining the CreditCards.com team, I had a brief stint in public relations and marketing.

I am also a published photographer and classical and rock cellist. I reside in Austin, Texas, the live music capital of the world, with a mischievous Min Pin and a jerk of a cat.

Tyler Metzger

One note. That's all it takes. One note. One note and my plastic is running fast, smooth through the machine and one moment later I have the record in my hand and one moment later it is blasting and one moment later nothing matters.

Like that my credit card use began. I am kind of a music junkie and live to have funk and jazz replace the silent spaces in my life. Consequently I can do nothing but burn money in a music store. So I do, when I have it, and when I don't, I charge it.

I arrived in Austin in September 2008 with my music, my debt and a journalism degree from the University of Missouri. During my college "episode," as some family members put it, I worked as a reporter and later as a graphic designer for the "Columbia Missourian." I then traveled to Argentina where I reported for "The Argentimes" in Buenos Aires. I returned sunburnt and jet-lagged and completed my studies while working as a music editor for "Vox Magazine."

(Tyler Metzger is a former multimedia producer for CreditCards.com.)

Anna Bleker

I'm Anna Bleker, the multimedia intern at CreditCards.com. I help create illustrations and interactive features to accompany editorial stories. I also hog all of the Monster energy drinks in the break room. I'm physically dependent.

As a rhetoric major at the University of Texas at Austin, I've interned at a lifestyle magazine and small marketing company and freelanced countless design gigs over weak coffee and Ruffles. I'm also an avid painter: I show my work at a couple of Austin galleries and paint commissions for extra cash (mostly, to buy textbooks-well, hair dye, keyboarding equipment and cheesesteaks).

I plan to get sunburned purple at the Austin City Limits festival.

In my wallet there are a couple student IDs, about 40 business cards and the creepy Hawaii State Quarter, but no credit card: I just use debit for now. In a few months I'll get a credit card, once I'm sure I won't forfeit my credit score for chai lattes and puggle calendars.

(Anna Bleker is a former intern and multimedia assistant for CreditCards.com.)

Ann Brenoff

Ann Brenoff wrote the nationally syndicated Hot Property column for the Los Angeles Times, where she worked for 18 years and won a shared Pulitzer Prize. She is a lead blogger and editor for several AOL websites and writes regularly for the Huffington Post and other venues about celebrity real estate. She is working on a book about Malibu, Calif., where she lives with her husband and children.

Lisa Bertagnoli

Lisa Bertagnoli is a freelance journalist who lives and works in Chicago. She is a frequent contributor to Crain's Chicago Business, and in 2006, wrote "Scarlett Rules," a lighthearted life-lessons book based on her heroine, Scarlett O'Hara. Lisa holds bachelor's degrees in history and journalism, and a master's degree in linguistics. Before launching her freelance career, Lisa was managing editor of the late, great trade magazine, Restaurants & Institutions.

Melody Warnick

Melody Warnick is an Austin-based freelance writer whose work has been published in Woman's Day, Redbook, Better Homes and Gardens and other magazines. Her website is MelodyWarnick.com, and she will be happy if never has to see the inside of the driver's license office again

Susan Ladika

Susan Ladika is a freelance writer and frequent contributor to CreditCards.com.

Kalen Smith

Guest blogger Kalen Smith holds an MBA in finance. He discusses financial topics such as investing, credit cards and economic policy on the Money Crashers personal finance blog.

Jay MacDonald

Jay MacDonald is a professional writer and frequent contributor to CreditCards.com. His off-the-beaten-path feature stories explore the religious, astrological, psychological, aromatic and hygienic aspects of credit cards as well as their cultural significance in film, fashion and popular song. His one-on-one interviews include TV personalities, bestselling authors, a championship boxer, a hip-hop mogul, an etiquette expert, a secret agent and a meteor hunter. Of course he lives in Florida.

Rob Berger

Guest blogger Rob Berger is the founder of the popular personal finance blog, the Dough Roller.

Sally Herigstad

Sally Herigstad answers questions about credit every week for CreditCards.com. Herigstad is a certified public accountant, author and speaker. She also writes regularly for MSN Money, Interest.com, Bankrate.com and RedPlum.com, and has been a guest on Martha Stewart radio and other programs.