I'm a freelance writer, expert and speaker specializing in personal finance.

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Testimonials

"Working with Zina for social media content development was great! She was attentive to get the tone and content right, which was great because our subject matter and audience were tough. We are excited to work with her again!"

— Makenzie Davies CEO and Co-founder at davies + dixon

Zina has contributed to the MintLife blog over several years and has contributed some of our most loved pieces! Zina brings credible and responsible financial advice with some personality! She is always professional and an all around joy to work with.

- Jane Lohani, marketing manager at Intuit and Mint.com

Zina is a brilliant contributor with a keen sense of how to write for her readers in an engaging and easily understandable way. She has a wonderful ability to make financial topics approachable.

— Karina Parikh, Audience Development Coordinator at Investopedia

I’ve worked with Zina Kumok for years now, and have found her to be thorough and conscientious in all of her work. I can depend on her to do a great job with the work I’ve
assigned her.

— Kelly Kendall, Managing Editor at Indianapolis Monthly

Zina has a very down-to-earth voice that makes personal finance less dry and more approachable for the everyday person. When you have an audience who's new to understanding finance, it's important to talk with them, not down to them, and Zina does a good job of delivering helpful information in bite-sized pieces.

- Lauren Jackson, Content Marketing Manager, Self Financial

Zina always comes to the table with fresh content ideas that supplement our blog perfectly. You can expect quality articles delivered on deadline and as smooth a communication process as one could hope for. I recommend her work to anyone.

— Amy Backer, TaxAct

Zina and I have worked together on my website, and she’s an excellent freelance writer. I absolutely love working with her, she’s reliable and super smart!

— Shannyn Allen, FrugalBeautiful.com

Not only did Zina provide well-written and engaging content for my blog, she also promoted the piece and worked to drive traffic to the post.

— LaTisha Styles, YoungFinances.com

Why I Write About Personal Finance

I've been interested in money ever since my mom used to listen to Dave Ramsey on the radio. I'd hear listeners call in to Dave and share their problems. I loved hearing how Dave would listen to anyone's story and find solutions for their money problems. It almost seemed like magic the way he would talk about the debt snowball method and how anyone could pay off their loans if they really tried.

Growing up, my parents always talked about money honestly. They shared how much they were earning, spending and saving. I knew they made sacrifices to send me to a private school, and I knew they valued traveling more than buying a new car. Figuring out money problems became like a puzzle to me. If I wanted to travel to Europe, I had to figure out how to save money for it. If I wanted to go to the college of my dreams, I had to decide if I could afford to pay off the student loans that came with it.

When I got in college, I learned that my parents were unusual. Most kids didn't grow up learning the difference between an IRA and a 401k or why it's bad to lease a car. Many parents didn't share their salaries with their kids, for fear it would make them spoiled. I felt proud that I knew why it was important to save for retirement and why buying a house came with serious issues.

When I was in college, I took a basic personal finance course. For fun. I loved learning about money and how it works. I also realized how complex finance could be and how there were few resources available for people my age looking to educate themselves about money.

Once I graduated, I realized it was time to put my knowledge into action. I was finally on my own financially and I had to start budgeting, saving and paying off my student loans for real. I started reading various books and blogs about personal finance and trying to implement what I read. I couponed, bought secondhand clothes and lived frugally.

But I also realized that many of my peers weren't doing the same. They weren't trying to pay off their student loans early or start a 401k. I started talking about money at work and convinced my boss to let me start blogging about it. I soon spent more time writing for my blog then doing my other assignments.

A few months later, I started my own blog, Debt Free After Three, where I chronicled my journey to pay off my student loans in three years. I loved writing about what I learned, what worked and what didn't. After a couple years of blogging, I attended FinCon, a conference for financial media professionals. There I met other people writing about personal finance and making a living at it. I started booking freelancing gigs and in September 2015, I quit my job to be a full-time freelance writer specializing in personal finance.

Every day, I get to educate, inspire and encourage people to change their financial habits. I've seen friends share my articles without realizing I'm the author. I love knowing that someone who reads a story I wrote could learn how to pay off debt, start a retirement account or buy a house. I share the trials and successes of real people along with advice from experts. Every day, I hope that more people learn what I did at the dinner table.

I love creating content for companies who want to educate the public about personal finance. I'm comfortable coming up with story ideas, sharing my own experiences and finding out what readers want to see.

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