Rae Hartley Beck

Rae Hartley Beck first started writing about personal finance in 2011 with a regular column in her college newspaper as a staff writer. Since then she has become a leader in the Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) movement and has over 100 bylines in prominent publications including Money, Bankrate and Investopedia on all things personal finance. A former award-winning claims specialist with the Social Security Administration, Rae continues to share her expert insider knowledge with Forbes Advisor readers.

She has created and taught courses to small and large groups on topics including Social Security benefits, credit card rewards programs, budgeting, creating and establishing credit, first-time home buying and beginner investing.

Rae went from having her family home foreclosed on when she was in high school to becoming a homeowner at age 24. This experience taught her that with the right knowledge, diligence and luck many people can achieve financial stability on limited means. She shares that knowledge by volunteering with a range of nonprofits, creating free educational financial content and individually mentoring women and teens. As a former foster parent to older teenagers, Rae focused on teaching the next generation the skills they need to prosper in a system that is rigged against them.

When not heckling her friends into opening a Roth IRA, Rae can be found backpacking in the desert Southwest with her retired racing sled dog and reading an average of four books a week.