About the Authors

 

Madison DuPaix, owner, contributor, and chief editor

Madison started My Dollar Plan in 2007 as a way to share her passion for personal finance including taxes, investing, retirement plans, and seeking free money deals.

When Madison isn’t writing about personal finance, she’s an enrolled agent who started a tax business on the side “just for fun” and is the founder of a local investment club.

Before leaving corporate America behind to stay home with her 3 young children, Madison worked in the finance and insurance industry. She holds both undergrad and graduate degrees in business.

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Amanda Grossman, contributor

Amanda L. Grossman was born and raised on a dairy farm in Lancaster County, PA. Being around the Pennsylvania Dutch, working in the muck, and living under the same roof as her depression-era grandfather engrained the value of frugality in her.

Working in the muck also made Amanda curious and inquisitive of other places, and she dreamed of studying abroad. For three years she mucked horse stalls, worked at her parents’ farm stand selling pumpkins, and milked cows in order to save up the $1600 it took for a summer in Burgos, Spain. Upon arrival, she felt that the country was just not exotic enough.

In college, Amanda spent a semester in London, England working as a Hansard Scholar in the British Parliament for the Welsh Plaid Cymru party, and then she flew directly to the place she dreamt up as being the most exotic in the world: Japan. While studying economics, government and the language, she met her future fiancé, Paul, a cryptologist in the Navy. She graduated from Washington College in 2005 summa cum laude with a degree in International Studies and Environmental Studies.

Amanda currently works as an environmental investigator for the State of Texas, and lives in Houston, TX with her cat, Lyla, and her fiancé, Paul. She writes a personal finance blog called Frugal Confessions and is a featured blogger at the Houston Chronicle.

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Kristen Kuchar, contributor

Kristen Kuchar has made it a mission to not let money get in the way of loving travel, food, and having fun. She’s dedicated to saving money, finding the best deals, and always coming up with creative ways to still enjoy her passions. By day, she is a freelance writer and editor primarily writing about food, craft beer, cheese, travel, and experiencing all of them on a budget. She is the author of Mac ‘N Cheese to the Rescue.

Kristen graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a degree in Journalism and a concentration in Magazine Writing and Editing. She’s based in Chicago but will be soon traveling America visiting every state on a small budget. Follow her on Twitter @KristenKuchar.

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Don, contributor

Don is a personal finance blogger who writes for MoneySmartGuides. He became interested in personal finance from his economics teacher in high school and has been involved with it ever since, both in his personal life and his professional career.

He writes about personal finance topics that include investing, saving, debt, the economy, and retirement. His goal is to help people better understand personal finance. The subject isn’t taught in schools, so it is up to our parents or others to teach us the importance of money management. Sadly though, if our parents aren’t great with money, we tend to follow in their footsteps.

By blogging, Don hopes to help others attain their personal and financial dreams. He encourages readers to contact him with questions or post ideas. You can also follow him on twitter (@moneysma) where he tweets positive, motivational personal finance quotes.

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