Alexander Reed

Alexander Reed is a financial educator and former credit counselor who writes with the calm, practical voice you wish your bank used. Raised in Cleveland, Ohio, and later based in Edinburgh, Scotland, Alex brings a grounded, transatlantic perspective to the topics most people quietly stress about: rebuilding credit, getting out of debt, and making money choices that actually fit real life.After graduating with a Bachelor’s in Economics from Ohio State, Alex began his career at a nonprofit credit counseling agency where he sat across the table from thousands of people—nurses, rideshare drivers, small business owners—mapping out budgets and calling creditors together. Those early years taught him that most “bad” financial decisions are just normal human decisions made under stress and uncertainty, and that systems matter as much as willpower. He later completed a postgraduate certificate in Behavioral Finance and is a CFP® candidate, blending human psychology with the math of money.Alex has since consulted for fintech startups on responsible credit products and has contributed curriculum to adult-education programs on topics like credit utilization, debt payoff frameworks, negotiating with lenders, and rebuilding after setbacks. His writing style is warm and direct: he translates jargon, shows his work, and isn’t afraid to share the scripts he actually uses on the phone with banks.These days, Alex focuses on helping readers create credit-positive routines they can keep on a busy week—automations that nudge balances down, calendar check-ins that take 10 minutes, and clear thresholds for when to refinance or leave a product behind. When he’s off the clock, you’ll find him walking the Water of Leith with a thermos of coffee, restoring a secondhand road bike, or perfecting a cast-iron skillet pizza that is absolutely better than takeout.