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About the OppU Blog

Produced for a consumer audience with short-term, unexpected, or immediate financial needs, the OppU Blog is approachable, helpful, and entertaining, providing basic insights to everyday financial challenges. New to the topic of personal finance? No problem. We provide financial education 101, meaning we do not require a baseline understanding of personal finance to read our articles. Visitors to our blog will find articles, expert-driven tips, calculators, and other interactive experiences to help them on their personal finance journey.

Editorial Policy

Contributing Editorial Staff

The OppU Review Board

Contributing Expert Sources

How to Contribute

Editorial Policy

Our writing staff adheres to a strict editorial policy that values quality and accuracy above all else.

We write with integrity. The OppU Blog upholds standard journalistic principles to ensure all articles contain accurate information and are properly vetted. All of our content goes through a thorough review process to confirm each article includes easy-to-digest information and proper sourcing.

We value expert insight. We always seek to supplement our research and content with perspectives from respected subject matter experts in the fields of personal finance, credit, lending, consumer behavior, and more. Subject matter experts also represent a range of professional sectors, including, but not limited to, higher education, research, government, and nonprofit.

We refrain from advertorial content. While we will interview industry consultants from time to time, we do so selectively and solely quote them for their expertise. Advertorial language or advice promoting a specific type of consultancy service will not be published.

We won’t sell you short. Readers won’t find spammy articles or sales pitches in our content, and won’t come across links to other sites trying to loop them into scams or schemes. That would be a conflict of interest -- and we’re not interested in that. Except in rare circumstances, we refrain from linking to the following:

  • Competitor sites
  • Affiliate sites selling traffic to financial products
  • Marketing, PR, and communications professionals who lack relevant expertise

Contributing Editorial Staff

The OppU Blog’s contributing editorial team strives to deliver high-quality, authoritative, yet practical information for our readers. We do this by working with a team of individuals who are experts in their fields. Readers will find that our contributing staff comprises experienced journalists, accredited financial education experts, and writers who have extensive experience covering and working in the personal finance space.

Kelly Zimmerman

Kelly Zimmerman managed and edited all content as editor-in-chief for OppU. She has been published in national publications and newswires, including The Associated Press, McClatchy, and MarketWatch.com.

Ashley Altus, CFC

Ashley Altus is a personal finance writer who covered financial planning with a focus on money management and household finance for OppU. She is a Certified Financial Counselor through the National Association of Credit Counselors. Her work has appeared with O, the Oprah Magazine; Cosmopolitan Magazine; The Smart Wallet; and Float.Today.

Andrew Tavin, CFEI

Andrew Tavin is a personal finance writer who covered budgeting with expertise in building credit and saving for OppU. His work has been cited by Wikipedia, Crunchbase, and Hacker News, and he is a Certified Financial Education Instructor through the National Financial Educators Council.

The OppU Review Board

The OppU Review Board was created to ensure all articles published on our site are accurate and uphold the editorial policies set forth by OppU Blog staff. Review board individuals assist in activities to ensure the credibility of our content and include fact-checkers, accredited staff, and financial experts.

Tamara Altman

Dr. Altman has over 25 years of experience in social science, public health, and market research, statistics, evaluation, and reporting. She has held positions with, and consulted for, many government, academic, nonprofit, and corporate organizations, including The Pew Charitable Trusts, the National Park Foundation, Stanford University, UCSF, UC Berkeley, and UCLA.

Ann Logue

Ann Logue is a writer specializing in business and finance. She is the author of five books on investing and has written for Barron’s, Entrepreneur, and InvestHedge, among other publications. She lives in Chicago and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Barbara Takle Carpenter

Barbara Takle Carpenter is Principal Consultant and Owner of Takle Consulting Group, LLC. From discovery to ideation, her work improves the understanding of audiences and engagement. She is a data analyst and fact-checker for Oppu, vetting survey data and providing industry insight into consumer personal finance habits.

Contributing Expert Sources

Most of our articles feature interviews with scholars, doctorate-level professionals, and highly accredited field experts. You can find a list of expert interviewees here.

Matt Pelkey, CFEI

During his time as the director of education for OppU, Matt Pelkey, CFEI, successfully implemented personal finance courses, scholarship opportunities, and financial literacy resources for students and adults of all ages.

Evette Rudolph, CFEI

Evette Rudolph, CFEI, was a senior financial educator for OppU. She completed training with the National Financial Educators Council in 2020 and is a Certified Financial Education Instructor.

Article Submissions

Writers with an interest in contributing content to the OppU blog should review our editorial guidelines, which are available upon request. Please submit the following in your pitch:

  • 2-5 sentences about the context of the article and how it relates to the credit- or budget-challenged consumer.
  • How the article will differ from those already published on the OppU Blog (please do your research). Is there a timely element to it? Has there been a shift in the marketplace that raises a need for us to cover a repeat topic again?
  • At least one credible source you plan to attribute. You do not have to submit a comprehensive list, but your sources should provide an idea of how you plan to approach the topic with authority.

Pitches and editorial guideline requests may be sent to editors@opploans.com.

Need more information?

Questions about our editorial guidelines or policies may be directed to editors@opploans.com.

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