Hi, I'm Sarah — and this is why I started PlainMoneyTalk.

For about a decade I worked in operations at a mid-sized credit union outside Pittsburgh. My job had nothing to do with giving advice — I was the person making sure the loan paperwork actually got where it needed to go — but I sat fifteen feet from the lending desk, and over the years I overheard a lot of conversations between regular people and the financial system they were trying to navigate.

What struck me, again and again, was how often smart, capable people would walk in genuinely confused about things that nobody had ever bothered to explain in plain language. Why their credit score dropped after they paid off a card. What an APR actually means. Whether putting $50 a month into a Roth IRA was even worth the trouble. (Spoiler: it absolutely is.)

PlainMoneyTalk grew out of those overheard conversations.

What this site is

PlainMoneyTalk is a personal finance blog for people who want practical, honest, jargon-free help with their money. I write about budgeting, saving, investing, paying off debt, and earning extra income — the same kinds of decisions I've made (and occasionally messed up) in my own life.

I don't sell courses. I don't have a coaching program. There's no "10-step framework" or paywall hiding the good stuff. Every article on the site is something I'd actually want a friend to read.

What this site isn't

This isn't a get-rich blog. I'm not going to tell you how to make $10,000 a month in passive income from a laptop on a beach, because I have no idea how to do that and I'd be skeptical of anyone who claims they do.

I'm also not a licensed financial advisor, CPA, or attorney. What you read here is general information based on widely accepted personal finance principles and my own experience — not personalized advice. For decisions with significant tax, legal, or investment implications, please talk to a qualified professional. There's more about this on the disclaimer page.

A little about me

Outside of writing here, I'm a runner (slowly), a serial library-cardholder, and a deeply mediocre gardener. I live with my husband and two opinionated rescue dogs in a small house we spent four years paying off — an experience that taught me more about both budgeting and patience than any book ever did.

I started writing about money on the side in 2019, mostly for friends and family who'd ask me to "just write down what you told me." PlainMoneyTalk launched as a proper site in 2022, and it's been a slow, steady labor of love ever since.

How I think about money writing

I try to follow three rules on every post:

• If I wouldn't say it to a friend at my kitchen table, I won't write it. That cuts out a lot of finance writing pretty fast.
• Specific beats vague. "Save more" isn't useful. "Move your emergency fund to a high-yield savings account this weekend" is.
• Doubt is part of the deal. Personal finance involves real uncertainty — about markets, taxes, your own future. Anyone who promises you certainty is selling you something.

Want to get in touch?

I read every email that comes through the site. If you've got a topic you'd like covered, a question that didn't get answered in an article, or just want to say hello — head over to the contact page and drop me a line.

Thanks for reading. I'm glad you're here.

— Sarah