Mariah Ackary

Former Editor, credit cards

EXPERTISE

Credit cards
Small business

EDUCATION

University of South Carolina

About the author

Mariah Ackary is a personal finance writer specializing in small businesses and credit. Her work has been cited by media including Fortune, The New York Times, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and CNBC. Mariah is a lifelong writer. She hopes to make personal finance education easier and more approachable through her research and advice.

Mariah earned her bachelor’s degree in public relations with a minor in business administration from the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of South Carolina in 2019.

Mariah's latest articles

Poll: Majority of subscribers experience unwanted charges

Poll: Over half of U.S. adults who have subscribed to a service or membership have gotten charged unexpectedly.

5 min read Feb 06, 2022
Contactless payments surge and approach 1 in 5 in-person card payments

Nearly 20 percent of all in-person credit or debit card transactions in the U.S. are now contactless, Visa reported.

3 min read Feb 04, 2022
How to put your unused gift cards to work

Chances are, you have at least one unused gift card laying around somewhere. And if you’re being honest—or if you search hard enough—you probably have two, three or more. Some 51 percent of U.S. [...]

2 min read Jan 28, 2022
The coin shortage isn’t over yet

The coin shortage in the U.S. continues to be an inconvenience for many.

4 min read Jan 21, 2022
Poll: Consumers say cash back is king

Cash back is Americans’ favorite credit card feature, far and away more popular than wide acceptance or travel perks.

5 min read Jan 10, 2022
Poll: Lending money goes wrong nearly half the time

The survey data backs up a well-known financial rule: it’s best to avoid mixing friends, family and money.

5 min read Dec 13, 2021
Small-business credit card satisfaction surges

Small-business credit card users felt much better about their cards in 2021, according to the J.D. Power 2021 U.S. Small Business Credit Card Satisfaction Study.

3 min read Dec 10, 2021
Average credit scores rose in 2021, though some cities and states fared better than others

The average credit score is a record-high 716, up eight points from last year, according to FICO.

3 min read Nov 26, 2021