
AJ Smith
Home Buying, Banking and Retirement Expert
AJ Smith is an award-winning journalist and personal finance expert with more than a decade of experience in television, radio, newspapers, magazines and online content. She has appeared on CNN, The Weather Channel, Wall Street Journal Radio and ABC News Radio. Her work has appeared on websites including MarketWatch, Huffington Post, Yahoo Finance and Credit.com. She is a contributor for Forbes. The SmartAsset VP of Content and Financial Education has degrees from Princeton University and Mississippi State University. AJ was named an honoree of the 2018 Women in Media awards in the Corporate Champions category. She is a member of the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing and a Certified Educator in Personal Finance® (CEPF®). AJ and her husband also write and illustrate educational children's books.
Posts by AJ Smith:

Dave Carvajal knows how to match good people to good jobs. He co-founded and grew HotJobs.com, built up TheLadders.com and still runs his own boutique executive search company, Dave Partners. But he wanted to share his secrets with even more people. Carvajal is detailing the knowledge he has gained from two decades of success in a new book, “Hire Smart from the Start.” We read the book and think it could help any entrepreneur who is looking to grow their business quickly, without making the typical hiring mistakes along the way. Read more

Patrice Washington says she is an accidental personal finance blogger. Regardless, it’s a role she seems born to play, and one she’s certainly making the most of! Patrice is now much more than a personal finance blogger, she is a personal finance educator, author and advocate. You can see, hear and read Patrice pretty much everywhere from the Steve Harvey TV and radio show to her own books on personal finance. We caught up with Patrice in New Orleans for this edition of SmartAsset Talks. Read more

Steve Chou didn’t plan to start an online business. But when his wife got pregnant, she decided she wanted to quit her job. The couple knew they needed to find a way to replace her six-figure income to continue to live the life they wanted. Now they run a successful business, along with a blog about how they do it. We caught up with Steve for this edition of SmartAsset Talks. Read more

Mark and Lauren Greutman were a couple dealing with debt. Instead of turning the other way, they faced their problem head on, taking drastic steps to improve their financial path. Then they decided… Read more

We often hear about the negative consequences of debt. And while it is certainly a good idea to avoid unnecessary and high-interest debt, most people will carry some kind of debt at some point in… Read more

Hearing about major data security breaches can be scary. You can sometimes feel powerless. Credit card industry expert Matt Schulz joins us for this edition of SmartAsset Talks with tips on how to… Read more

Sandy Smith is cheap. And she’s not afraid to tell people about it. Her motto is, “I embrace the cheap.” She says being cheap means being concerned about saving money, getting the best bang for your… Read more

Vernon Ross wants you to crush it. No, really, he hopes you succeed at meeting your goals. Vernon wants to help you spread your message (whatever it may be) to more people. He started a blog to share… Read more

Shannyn Allan didn’t want to give up on a beautiful life just because she was broke. As a grad student living in an expensive city, Shannyn started a personal finance blog to show you could live (and… Read more

Mike and Lauren plan to retire early. Like super early. The couple, married since 2008, plan to have saved enough money to be financially independent by the time they are thirty. Sound crazy? They… Read more

Being one man at a computer wasn’t enough for Philip Taylor, known by most in the financial blogging world as PT. After starting his own website in 2007 to share his experience improving his own… Read more

Tiffany Aliche is The Budgetnista. She teaches financial empowerment through speaking engagements, workshops and her bestselling book. Her motto is “LIVE RICHER” and for this edition of SmartAsset… Read more

Chris Ducker gives good advice. And (spoiler alert!) he does it in a British accent. A serial entrepreneur, virtual staffing expert, blogger, podcaster and author, Chris took some time to talk to us… Read more

Beverly Harzog knows the adrenaline rush that can come from spending money. But too much of that shopping left her owing about $20,000 to credit card companies. So she found a way to get that same… Read more

Jason Steele flies for free. With his wife. And two kids. Internationally. Before your jealousy turns to anger, I should probably mention that he’s willing to share his secrets. In fact, the travel… Read more

Jeff Rose is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and well known personal finance blogger. He calls himself a numbers geek but his cool, confident nature makes him sound more like a financially fit… Read more

Farnoosh Torabi has been tackling the topic of money for more than a decade. The personal finance expert and TV personality is a contributing editor at Money Magazine and frequent contributor on The… Read more

Matt Becker helps new parents navigate their new financial responsibilities. The financial planner is also a dad of two young boys so he has personal experience dealing with the money anxieties that… Read more

Are you worried about retirement? You are not alone! A new documentary takes a deep look at the state of retirement in America. In this edition of SmartAsset Talks, we interview one of the producers… Read more

Josh Elledge of SavingsAngel doesn’t believe in sacrificing everything in order to save money. In fact, he believes you can live abundantly and still meet your financial goals. Not many financial… Read more

J. Money is the rebel of personal finance. Some people even call him the rock star. Whatever label you choose, he’s certainly not your average finance nerd. The full-time blogger dons a mohawk… Read more

Owning property is often seen as a landmark of adulthood, indicating prosperity and fiscal responsibility. Unfortunately, down payments, closing costs and loans are expensive and not everyone can… Read more

Lauren is THAT lady. The mother of four juggles it all. When her family was digging out of debt she learned just how much she could save on groceries by cutting coupons, planning ahead and executing.… Read more

J.D. Roth calls himself an accidental personal finance expert. This humble, friendly and very knowledgeable guy started the Get Rich Slowly movement (and blog!) to share his journey of getting out of… Read more

What happens when a bunch of people who only know each other by Twitter handles show up together in New Orleans for the weekend? Well first of all, there’s a lot of squinting to read names on badges.… Read more