John Egan

Personal Finance Expert

About

John Egan is a veteran personal finance writer whose work has been published by outlets such as Bankrate, Experian, Newsweek Vault and Investopedia.

John is a freelance writer and content marketing strategist who has covered personal finance for more than a dozen years following a career in newspaper journalism. His areas of expertise in personal finance include credit cards, loans, mortgages, retirement, financial planning, investing and insurance.

He has won awards from the National Association of Real Estate Editors (NAREE), Texas Press Association, Missouri Press Association and Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing (SABEW).

When he’s not informing consumers about personal finance matters, John enjoys travel—he has visited six continents. He is a dual citizen of the United States and Ireland, and is the author of “The Stripped-Down Guide to Content Marketing.”

Expertise

Investing
Retirement
Mortgages
Insurance

Achievements

More than a dozen years of experience as a personal finance writer
Contributor to outlets such as Investopedia, Experian, Bankrate and Newsweek Vault
Author of “The Stripped-Down Guide to Content Marketing”

Other Publications

Education

Southern New Hampshire University (M.A., Communication)

University of Kansas (B.S., Journalism)

Honors and Awards

Awards from the National Association of Real Estate Editors (NAREE)
Texas Press Association
Missouri Press Association and Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing (SABEW)

Professional Memberships

American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA)

8 months ago

The Worst States For Driving Behavior

The Aloha State probably would like to say goodbye to a new ranking of drivers’ behavior. Hawaii sits atop our 2024 list of the worst states for driving behavior. According to a survey of 5,000 Americans with a driver’s license...
11 months ago

How Much Does A $100,000 Annuity Pay Per Month?

An annuity—which is a contract with an insurance company that provides income—may be a good option as part of your retirement plan. It can deliver a steady source of income for years or even for the rest of your life....
1 year ago

Dwayne Johnson Partners With Acorns To Promote Mighty Oak Debit Card

Dwayne Johnson—the movie actor and former pro wrestler known for the catchphrase “Do you smell what The Rock is cooking?”—has whipped up a debit card partnership with saving and investing app Acorns. The new debit card, dubbed the Mighty Oak,...
1 year ago

SAT To Go Fully Digital In 2023

At last, all college-bound students taking the SAT® college entrance exam are entering the digital age. Starting in 2024, the U.S. SAT will shift from the old pencil-and-paper format to an onscreen-only format. In other countries, the switch happened in...
1 year ago

Annuities vs. Investing: Which Is Right For Your Financial Future?

Planning for retirement often boils down to a choice between annuities and other investments. But which is right for you, or should you consider both? Going over the pros and cons of annuities and investments can help you decide which...
2 years ago

How Much Renters Insurance Do I Need?

You might think you don’t own very much, but think back to the last time you moved. Remember all that stuff you schlepped from one apartment to another? You need enough renters insurance to cover all those personal belongings if...
2 years ago

Charles Schwab vs. Vanguard

Charles Schwab and Vanguard are multitrillion-dollar titans in the investment universe. In fact, each company boasted assets under management of or near $7.7 trillion as of the spring of 2023. Given their heavyweight status, Schwab and Vanguard are fairly evenly...
2 years ago

E*TRADE Vs. Robinhood

In the world of investing, E*TRADE and Robinhood are relative newcomers: E*TRADE was born in 1982, and Robinhood showed up more than 30 years later. But even though they’re fairly young companies, each now boasts billions of dollars in assets....
2 years ago

What Is A Non-Qualified Annuity?

Earning guaranteed income with an annuity can be a great way to bolster your retirement plan. Before you buy, you need to decide whether a qualified or non-qualified annuity is best suited to your needs. What Is an Annuity? The...
2 years ago

Guide To Annuity Taxes

Much like taxes, annuities just aren’t very popular. No one likes paying taxes to Uncle Sam, and a mere 17% of American households led by someone between 40 and 85 owns an annuity, according to industry group Limra’s 2022 Consumer...
2 years ago

VTI vs. VOO

Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) and Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) are two of more than 80 ETF offerings from Vanguard, an investment giant with $8.1 trillion in assets under management as of December 2022. What Is VTI? VTI...
2 years ago

Casualty Insurance Definition And How It Works

If you’re shopping for an insurance policy, you might come across the term “property and casualty insurance.” Property and casualty insurance are standard parts of insurance policies, but what they cover is different: Property insurance covers your own physical assets...
2 years ago

What Are Intangible Assets?

Do you want a portfolio packed with wildly successful stocks like Apple, Microsoft and Amazon.com? One way to get there is to focus on companies whose intangible assets are soaring. Why? These juggernauts own some of the world’s most valuable...
2 years ago

Top 10 Cheapest Currencies In The World In 2025

The U.S. dollar is a powerhouse among the world’s currencies: It’s the money that’s most traded on the global stage by a wide margin and is often used as a yardstick for comparing currencies. The greenback may not be the...
2 years ago

How Do Annuities Work?

Chances are your retirement portfolio already includes mutual funds and possibly a few exchange-traded funds. But what about annuities? You may have heard about these types of investments before, but you may not be entirely sure how they work. No...
2 years ago

How To Buy An Annuity

Many retirees who would benefit from annuities generally avoid them. That’s a shame because Americans tend to underestimate how long they’ll live, and it means they’re missing out on one of the best reasons to choose annuities: longevity insurance. “One...
2 years ago

Charles Schwab vs. Fidelity

Charles Schwab and Fidelity are two heavyweight contenders of the online brokerage business. Both companies offer extensive investing platforms that earn high marks from Forbes Advisor. These investment giants are on fairly even footing in terms of size and reputation,...
2 years ago

What Are Basis Points?

Two words—basis points—are the key to measuring increases and decreases in interest rates. Changes in interest rates affect the mortgage you take out to purchase a home, the loan you get to buy a car and the amount of interest...
2 years ago

GE Stock Split: What You Need To Know

General Electric Co. (GE) enjoys a long history as a massive American conglomerate. In 2021, however, GE announced plans to break up into three publicly traded companies. The most recent GE stock split, in January 2023, involved the spinoff of...
2 years ago

What Is Step-Up In Basis?

Inherited assets don’t have to incur added fees. Step-up in basis, also known as stepped-up basis, is a wrinkle in the federal tax code that can help heirs avoid or reduce taxes on inherited assets. This aspect of the tax...
2 years ago

Social Security Scams To Watch Out For

If scams are a numbers game, there’s hardly a better racket than calling people and telling them something is wrong with their Social Security. Almost everyone in the United States has a Social Security number. One in five of them...
2 years ago

Working While on Social Security

Most people think of Social Security benefits as something that are paid to retirees who’ve left the workforce, but it’s also possible to collect them while holding down a job in retirement or receiving disability benefits. In some cases, working...
2 years ago

Social Security Spousal Benefits

Social Security established spousal benefits in the 1930s to provide retirement income to spouses who had spent most of their working years on domestic labor inside the home. Eligible Americans can receive up to 50% of their spouses’ retirement benefits...
2 years ago

10 Most Recession-Proof Businesses Today

In 2008, at the height of the Great Recession, Maurisa Potts made a bold move. She quit her job as marketing director of Northern Virginia’s Crystal City Business Improvement District to launch her own marketing and PR firm. “Folks thought...
2 years ago

Study: Vast Majority Of Single Americans Feel Burden Of ‘Singles Tax’

If you’re among the nearly half of American adults who are single, you enjoy some freedom. But that freedom may be coupled with frustration over facing your finances alone. That frustration is felt everywhere. For example, singles who live alone...
2 years ago

Salem Five Direct Review 2025

This review focuses on Salem Five Direct’s banking products, which are available to anyone who is a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident alien with a green card. Savings and checking account details and annual percentage yields (APYs) are accurate...
2 years ago

Survey: Lying About Money To Your Partner Is As Bad As Cheating

Infidelity in a relationship can be heartbreaking. But financial infidelity, including hidden credit cards and undisclosed debts, can be both heartbreaking and break the bank. Sadly, financial infidelity is all too common among Americans. A survey commissioned by Forbes Advisor...
2 years ago

How To Calculate The Value Of An Annuity

When planning for retirement, you need to account for the value of any annuities that you own. Trouble is, there’s not just one value of an annuity—there are two: present value and future value. Understanding the Value of an Annuity...
2 years ago

The Digital Subscriptions Americans Are Most And Least Likely To Cut In 2023

U.S. adults really love their TV and music streaming apps, but they’re less committed to their self-improvement and personal-care digital subscriptions. A survey of 1,005 American consumers commissioned by Forbes Advisor and conducted by market research company Prolific found the...
2 years ago

Is It Better To Save Or Pay Off Debt?

Saving vs. paying down debt—it’s a balancing act that many of us face. But how do you find that balance in your own situation? The answer depends, in part, on whether you’ve got enough money already stashed for emergency savings...