Lisa Gerstner
Lisa has spent more than 15 years with Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine, where she has gained a breadth of knowledge on pocketbook issues for consumers. She started with Kiplinger as an American Society of Magazine Editors intern in 2006, was hired as a copy editor in 2007 and later began reporting and writing on a range of personal-finance topics. Her primary areas of coverage:
Retirement, including Social Security claiming strategies, advice on retirement-account savings and withdrawals, and growth of the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement. Consumer credit, including boosting credit scores and monitoring credit reports. For several years, she has compiled the magazine’s annual rankings of the best rewards credit cards, and she regularly updates articles on the best rewards cards for Kiplinger.com. Consumer banking, including the magazine’s annual rankings of the best banks. Money concerns for millennials, from saving on child-care costs to managing student loans.Lisa has shared her expertise as a guest with many media outlets around the nation, including the Today Show, CNN, Fox, NPR and Cheddar.
Lisa was an Honors College student at Ball State University, in Muncie, Ind., and graduated summa cum laude with a degree in magazine journalism and history. During her time as a student, she was editor-in-chief of the campus magazine and an intern at the Indianapolis Business Journal as well as her hometown newspaper, the Wapakoneta Daily News. She received Ball State’s “Graduate of the Last Decade” award in 2014.
A military spouse, Lisa experiences firsthand the financial challenges and opportunities for military families. Born and raised in Ohio, she has moved around the U.S.-from Washington, D.C., to Las Vegas to southern New Mexico–and currently lives in the Philadelphia area with her husband and two sons. When she finds free time, she loves to travel (especially to national parks), hike, try new recipes in the kitchen, and get on the mat to practice yoga.
Latest articles by Lisa Gerstner
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Strategies for CD Savers After the Coronavirus Interest Rate Cuts
savings As yields on certificates of deposit drop, you need to be smarter when it comes to saving with CDs.
By Lisa Gerstner • Last updated
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Can You Count on Social Security?
retirement I think benefits will be available in some form, but I’m not relying on them for the bulk of my income.
By Lisa Gerstner • Published
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Money Management Advice for Expat Retirees
Making Your Money Last You need to take extra steps to handle everything from banking to health care.
By Lisa Gerstner • Published
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Great Accounts for an Emergency Fund
credit & debt Several will help you grow your money and are less stressful than a loan when you need fast cash.
By Lisa Gerstner • Published
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A Safer Way to Share Your Data
credit & debt Financial institutions are turning to application programming interfaces to securely share info with budgeting apps and tax software programs.
By Lisa Gerstner • Published
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Changes Are Coming to Your Credit Score
credit & debt FICO’s newest model takes a long-term look at how you’ve managed credit.
By Lisa Gerstner • Published
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Social Security Tips and Tricks for All: Divorcees, Widows, Older Workers, Teachers, More
retirement Selecting the right strategy for when to claim Social Security will pay off for years to come. But there’s a lot more to maximizing your benefits.
By Lisa Gerstner • Last updated
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What Grandparents Need to Know About Using Savings Bonds for a Grandchild’s Education
Tax Breaks It’s not easy, but grandparents can avoid a tax bill when redeeming savings bonds to pay for a grandchild’s college costs.
By Lisa Gerstner • Last updated
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Alexa, Protect My Privacy
credit & debt Take steps to keep speakers, security cameras and other smart devices safe from hackers who want to steal your data—or worse.
By Lisa Gerstner • Published