Freelance Personal Finance Writer

The Motley Fool’s mission is "To make the world smarter, happier, and richer." For 30 years that has meant providing impartial and informed investment recommendations with a healthy dose of personal finance guidance on the side. And as we seek to empower everyone with the knowledge, tools, and confidence to attain financial freedom, our coverage is continually expanding.

We launched The Ascent, a Motley Fool brand, in 2018 to rate and review critical financial products like credit cards, savings accounts, and loans, as well as to provide jargon-free advice on topics ranging from paying off debt to financing a home, from saving money to maximizing your credit card rewards. There’s a lot of money advice out there (some good, some less good), and we’re cutting through the noise that often leaves people feeling helpless and insecure about key financial decisions.

So now that you know who we are at The Ascent, let's talk about you.

Who we're looking for

The Ascent team is looking for an expert personal finance writer with a passion for helping people of all backgrounds change their financial lives for the better. This writer will bring a fresh perspective to the topics they cover and will never, ever tell us to stop buying our daily latte. They'll also be a news junkie who can interpret the latest developments in consumer finance and the industries we cover. If you love reading CFPB reports, House and Senate proposals, and credit card issuers' press releases, then you might be the writer we're looking for!

Responsibilities

Write both timely and evergreen articles on a wide variety of personal finance topics.
Pitch article ideas based on relevant news and whatever will grab readers' attention and serve their best financial interests.
Accept writing assignments and deliver them on deadline.
Update existing articles as needed.
Use and continually learn about SEO best practices.
Adapt to our ever-evolving needs, processes, formats, etc.
Attend monthly meetings with in-house staff to discuss new initiatives and best practices.
Prove that Bigfoot is real.

(We'll settle for 7 out of 8.)

Qualifications

5+ years' experience writing on personal finance, with previous publishing credits.
Basic math skills. (Ex: You should be able to walk our readers through an example of how much money they might save by consolidating debt.)
Knowledge of digital content and SEO best practices.
The ability to write clear, fluid, and engaging prose.
Adaptability and responsiveness to feedback.

In your application, please provide at least three writing samples.

A few things to note:

In a turbulent industry, our track record of financial stability stands out.
The Motley Fool's writers tend to stick with us for years. Many have been here a decade or more.
Experience in journalism and/or writing for organic search is a major plus -- but not a requirement.

Compensation

We pay anywhere from $75 for short-form articles to $500 for more involved reviews, plus additional performance-based incentives.