Jon McDonald

About the Author

Jon McDonald

With more than 15 years of journalism expertise, Jon stays apprised of finance trends, influential companies, and financial literacy resources for subprime consumers. He is most knowledgeable in the areas of budgeting, loans, and responsible credit use, and his articles have appeared in publications produced by The New York Times.

Latest Posts

100 posts written/edited to date

Study

2,556 views

3 min read

Lower Interest Rates Could Affect Americans’ Spending & Savings Plans in 2024

How a Lower Fed Funds Rate Could Affect Americans' Finances

BadCredit.org survey reveals that 39% of people surveyed are relieved the Fed is expected to lower rates, which may encourage credit card... read more »

Jon McDonald

By: Jon McDonald • 3/11/24

Study

8,702 views

3 min read

15% of Americans Have Used ChatGPT to Improve Their Credit Scores

15% of Americans Have Used ChatGPT to Improve Their Credit

BadCredit.org survey reveals that many younger consumers, predominantly Gen Z and millennial males, trust AI tools to help them improve their... read more »

Jon McDonald

By: Jon McDonald • 2/22/24

Study

7,527 views

3 min read

Over 1 in 5 Americans Admit to Having Been a ‘Loan Shark’

Over 1 in 5 Americans Admit to Having Been a Loan Shark

When traditional lending options like banks and credit cards are out of reach or unappealing, especially during periods of high interest rates,... read more »

Jon McDonald

By: Jon McDonald • 2/6/24

Blog

65,422 views

5 min read

EarnUp Continues to Help Borrowers Pay Off Loans More Efficiently Through Automatic Payments

EarnUp Enhances Loan Payment Efficiency for Borrowers

Many American homeowners may feel saddled with interest that compounds over years and decades, costing them far more than the... read more »

Jon McDonald

By: Jon McDonald • 7/7/23

Blog

64,647 views

5 min read

A Way Abroad Helps Women Find Pathways to Live and Work Outside of Their Home Countries

A Way Abroad Helps Women Work and Live in Other Countries

A Way Abroad helps women figure out the logistics, including work opportunities, necessary to move to other countries. The website... read more »

Jon McDonald

By: Jon McDonald • 7/7/23

Blog

80,160 views

7 min read

RentHop Uses a Smart Algorithm to Help Renters Assess Properties and Get the Best Price

RentHop Helps Renters Find the Best Value

Sky-high rental rates are a huge concern in today’s economy, and nowhere is that more apparent than in New York City. RentHop is a... read more »

Jon McDonald

By: Jon McDonald • 6/7/23

Blog

67,600 views

5 min read

FitBUX Helps Young Adults Navigate Their Financial Lives and Plan for Retirement

FitBUX Helps Young Adults With Financial Planning

The process of building a financial plan for life and retirement can be daunting. The thought of actually implementing that plan,... read more »

Jon McDonald

By: Jon McDonald • 6/5/23

Blog

81,450 views

5 min read

American Financing Helps First-Time Homebuyers Work On Their Credit Scores and Secure Home Loans

American Financing Supports First-Time Homebuyers

American Financing is one of the most supportive mortgage lenders in the industry for first-time homebuyers. Its consultants... read more »

Jon McDonald

By: Jon McDonald • 5/30/23

Blog

57,431 views

7 min read

Jade Warshaw and Ramsey Solutions Tools Can Help People Take Control of Their Finances For Good

Jade Warshaw and Ramsey Solutions Helps People Control Their Finances

After overcoming bankruptcy in the 1980s, businessman and real estate agent Dave Ramsey started informally offering financial... read more »

Jon McDonald

By: Jon McDonald • 5/1/23

Blog

100,000+ views

5 min read

MakeMyMove: Research and Incentives Encourage Remote Workers to Relocate to Ideal Communities

MakeMyMove: Financial Incentives Encourage Remote Workers to Relocate

Since 2020, the number of remote workers in the U.S. has exploded. That’s why many towns and cities with smaller populations have... read more »

Jon McDonald

By: Jon McDonald • 4/3/23

Blog

100,000+ views

5 min read

Outschool Offers Affordable Online Classes For Kids on a Variety of Subjects, Including Personal Finance

Outschool Offers Affordable Financial Literacy Classes for Kids

Outschool offers flexible, small-group courses for kids on a wide variety of topics from art and music to math and coding. The... read more »

Jon McDonald

By: Jon McDonald • 3/30/23

Blog

100,000+ views

5 min read

Freedom Mortgage: Responsive Service and Vast Lending Options Help Homebuyers Achieve Goals

Freedom Mortgage: Service and Options Helps Homebuyers Achieve Goals

Freedom Mortgage aims to help more borrowers purchase their first homes. One of the team’s priorities is to educate individuals... read more »

Jon McDonald

By: Jon McDonald • 3/28/23

Blog

100,000+ views

5 min read

Kanary Helps Users Remove Personal Information Online that Can Lead to Fraud and Identity Theft

Kanary Helps Users Remove Personal Info from the Internet

Identity theft and fraud are on the rise in the United States. Many individuals who worry about getting scammed use Kanary, a... read more »

Jon McDonald

By: Jon McDonald • 3/15/23

Blog

88,539 views

5 min read

BELAY Connects Businesses with Remote Workers Who Enjoy a Vibrant Culture and Work-Life Balance

BELAY Connects Clients to Vetted Remote Workers

Since 2010, BELAY has been a leader in fully remote, part-time services. When the company started, it connected professionals with... read more »

Jon McDonald

By: Jon McDonald • 2/28/23

Blog

85,944 views

5 min read

Work It Daily: J.T. O’Donnell Leverages Recruiting Expertise to Help Candidates Secure Better Jobs

Work It Daily: J.T. O’Donnell Helps Job Candidates Improve Their Skills

J.T. O’Donnell was frustrated by traditional hiring practices, so she set out to make job coaching more accessible for job... read more »

Jon McDonald

By: Jon McDonald • 2/16/23

Blog

79,131 views

5 min read

IFF Builds on a Legacy of Helping Midwestern Nonprofits Purchase and Modernize Facilities

IFF Continues to Build on its Legacy of Helping Midwestern Nonprofits

Lender and developer IFF continues to add more services to help nonprofits in the Midwest increase their impact and improve their... read more »

Jon McDonald

By: Jon McDonald • 2/15/23

Blog

100,000+ views

5 min read

Austin, Texas: A Fast-Growing City that Offers Diverse Options for Workers and Businesses

Austin, Texas: A Worker and Business Friendly City

Austin, Texas, is one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States. The city’s economic boom is, in part, tied to... read more »

Jon McDonald

By: Jon McDonald • 1/31/23

Blog

98,373 views

5 min read

Moneydance Updates Add Value and Convenience to the Privacy-Focused Finance Management App

Moneydance: Personal Finance Management Made Easier

Moneydance, which launched in the 1990s, is one of the market’s most established personal finance management apps. But it hasn’t... read more »

Jon McDonald

By: Jon McDonald • 1/10/23

Blog

75,251 views

5 min read

Truecaller Helps Users Block Spam, Identify Callers, and Manage Communications on Mobile Devices

Truecaller Enables Safer, More Efficient Mobile Communication

When mobile devices began to overtake landlines for making calls in the early 2000s, users discovered that the caller ID... read more »

Jon McDonald

By: Jon McDonald • 12/15/22

Blog

100,000+ views

5 min read

Kabbage Small Business Recovery Report Documents Optimism Despite Cost Concerns

Kabbage Reports SMB Recovery Optimism Despite Cost Concerns

One of the constants of the predigital financial marketplace was the lack of support for the capital needs of small businesses.... read more »

Jon McDonald

By: Jon McDonald • 11/29/22