Home
Photo by Tirachard Kumtanom on Pexels

Rivan Stinson

Rivan is a writer by calling and training. She started her career as a freelance fact-checker and grammar hound working for an independent book publisher and a local monthly magazine, while also working a retail job. After a couple of freelance years, she broke into journalism full-time as a fact checker, moving to Washington, D.C. She was an assistant editor, personal finance audience growth at The Washington Post. Topics of expertise include credit and banking, insurance and other personal finance topics. She hails from Michigan and went to the University of Michigan. She is also a self-taught photographer and photographed herself above. 

Photo by RDNE Stock project on Pexels
Babylist •

What Are the Tax Benefits of a 529 Account?

In 2026, the average cost to attend a four-year, in-state university—which includes tuition, room and board, and living expenses—is $108,584, according to the Education Data Initiative.

While it might seem impossible to have that much cash on hand for college, if you get started when your child is first born, you’ll have potentially 18 years to save. And investing some of that money into a 529 college savings plan can help families offset the costs of education. These accounts can be set up by parents, grandparents, legal guardians, or even a generous friend or family member with the child as a beneficiary.
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Pexels
Babylist •

What You Need to Know About The Trump Account Employer Matching Program

Starting this summer, some U.S. workers might have access to a new employee benefit: 530A account matching.

Trump Accounts, or 530A accounts, are tax-advantaged investment accounts for eligible children under the age of 18. They were introduced in 2025 and passed as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The purpose: Help families build a savings cushion for their children by investing in the stock market. The premise is similar to other tax-advantaged investment vehicles such as an IRA or 529 plan. And some families will enjoy the added benefit of an employer matching program similar to a 401(k).
Photo by www.kaboompics.com on Pexels
Babylist •

How Much Can You Contribute To Your Trump Account?

A Trump Account, aka 530A account, is a new investment vehicle that parents can use to save for their children’s future. They work a bit like an individual retirement account (IRA), and there are limits on how much you can contribute to the accounts each year—up to $5,000 in 2026. Like a 529 account, friends and family can also make a contribution to your child’s 530A as long as you don’t exceed the account limits.
The Washington Post •

Column | Credit scores will get a buy-now-pay-later update. Here’s what that means.

The way your credit score is calculated may change this fall. The Fair Isaac Corp. — commonly known as FICO — announced in June a new version of its scoring algorithms to include buy-now-pay-later loan data.The change comes as consumers increasingly rely on BNPL to cover groceries and other essentials. A recent Federal Reserve Board research post reported that 14 percent of adults in fall 2023 had used these kinds of loans at least once in the past 12 months, compared with 10 percent two years e...
The Washington Post •

She wanted to meet women. Instead, she cemented herself in D.C. history.

That night planted the seed for Alexander-Reid to start Women in the Life magazine, a monthly publication focused on connecting Black lesbians in the D.C. area and beyond. The pamphlet evolved from a flimsy, folded-over paper to a staple-bound publication that reached close to 20 pages or more depending on the month. Over the magazine’s decade run, it was a place for unknown writers and photographers to gain exposure, and a place to talk about the lived experience of being a Black woman dating o...
Photo by Marcus Aurelius on Pexels
Washington Post •

Retiring soon? Plot a detailed budget first before tapping your 401(k).

You might know how to save for retirement. But do you know how to spend your savings after you retire?For decades, the “4 percent rule,” laid out by renowned financial adviser William Bengen, served as the north star for financial planners. He estimated that a withdrawal rate of 4 percent a year would allow a retiree to safely spend down their investment account without depleting it.

You might know how to save for retirement. But do you know how to spend your savings after you retire?

You migh...
The Washington Post •

Black women say dating apps like Hinge are biased. Now some are testing it.

Odion Eigbobo, a Black woman in Arlington, Tex., said on TikTok she tested Hinge’s algorithm to find out whether changing her racial data would display better suitors. She set up two versions of her profile, identifying as Black on one and White on another, but using the same photo for both.It’s one of several choices that users can put into their profiles for free — along with sexual orientation, location, age — to reflect their personal preferences in a potential date. Subscribers or paid user...
Photo by Hasan Albari on Pexels
Washington Post •

Advice | This popular retirement option is still risky. Is it worth it?

Saving for retirement is always filled with uncertainty: Past investment performance doesn’t indicate future gains, and you may not have saved enough for an unexpected health issue or other family emergency. But for decades, investors and advisers alike have followed one guiding light: You can count on bonds or bond funds for safe, stable returns.

Saving for retirement is always filled with uncertainty: Past investment performance doesn’t indicate future gains, and you may not have saved enough...
The Washington Post •

Money advice gets a facelift on social media

Taylor Cohen’s financial habits had landed her in a heap of trouble, pushing her into bankruptcy in 2019. And so she tried something drastic, signing up for a 30-day savings challenge she learned about on Instagram in November 2022. “I’ve cut out completely [spending] on dumb stuff for myself and others and started paying myself first,” says Cohen, 32, who has also created a few side gigs for herself, found a way to reduce her rent, and sold her car. She saved and invested $30,000 in one year. S
Kiplinger •

Marriage: When You’d Rather Not

Since gay marriage was legalized in 2015, same-sex couples have had the same rights as their opposite sex counterparts when it comes to tying their financial lives together. All couples can now take advantage of tax benefits for married partners, pass assets from one spouse to another with ease and qualify for Social Security spousal and survivor benefits. However, not all couples want to get married. Others have remarried and haven’t updated their estate planning documents. Here are things same
Kiplinger •

Sometimes Renting Is Better Than Buying

My life as a renter is well known to my colleagues and friends, and even to Kiplinger readers (see "How to Negotiate a Break on Rent"). And while my previous attempts at rent negotiations didn’t succeed, I eventually ended up moving into a different (and bigger) unit in the same complex at a cheaper rate. However, as I watch my friends go through the home-buying process, it makes me question whether I’m throwing away my money and the wealth-building potential of owning a home. Personal finance e
Kiplinger •

Davenport Equity Opportunity Hunts for Cash Generators

So far, the start of 2022 has been rough for stocks big and small – and for those in the middle, too. The Russell Midcap, an index of roughly 800 stocks with an average market value of $25 billion, fell 7.6% through Feb. 4.

That's not shocking, says George Smith, who runs Davenport Equity Opportunities Fund (DEOPX) with comanager Chris Pearson, as the era of super-low interest rates and other economic stimulus measures comes to an end.

Yet the fund's long-term goal is the same: deliver double-
Kiplinger •

Where to Find Emergency Cash

If you have an emergency fund, congratulations. But when emergencies pile up, should you drain the fund to cover every one of them? It’s a question I asked myself recently after I inherited a car from my mom. While having my own wheels has improved my life, the car has needed repairs that I didn’t plan on.

My emergency fund could have covered the work, but I would have been left without a backup fund to pay my rent if I lost my job. Fortunately, I had a credit card with a very low balance. Plus
Kiplinger •

Think Twice Before You Close a Credit Card

Paying off high-interest credit card debt is an important step toward financial freedom, and Americans have taken this standard personal finance advice to heart. According to data from the Federal Reserve, revolving credit balances (primarily credit card debt) dropped more than 11% from 2019 to 2020. Analysts believe the decline stems from a combination of spending cutbacks during the pandemic and billions of dollars in stimulus checks, which many consumers used to pay off debt.

If you find you
Kiplinger •

How to Decide If It’s Time for a Career Change

COVID-19 upended the job market in multiple ways. Millions of Americans lost their jobs, saw their salaries reduced or were sent out of the office to work from home. But as uncertainty surrounding the pandemic continues, many workers have decided it’s time for a change. In a January survey of unemployed Americans, Pew Research Center found that 66% have seriously considered pursuing a different career because of the pandemic. One-third said they had enrolled in training programs or other educati
Kiplinger •

Fintech: The Bank Disrupters

With the invention of the smartphone and the ascendancy of app-based services, financial technology companies—better known as fintechs—have been disrupting traditional banking, offering attractive features to new customers who aren’t tied to traditional banks. These challenger banks (or neobanks, as they’re sometimes called) tout higher rates, quicker access to paychecks, real-time spending data and, for the most part, coverage by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.—all while charging low (or no
Kiplinger •

Do You Need Life Insurance When You're Young?

Although term in­surance has no cash value—your heirs won’t receive any benefits un­less you die before the term expires—it’s con­siderably cheaper than whole life insurance. For that reason, Kiplinger’s generally recommends buying term life insur­ance and using other vehicles for your investments, such as low-cost mutual funds or exchange-traded funds. Byron Udell, founder of AccuQuote.com , a life insurance marketplace, says a nonsmoking 28-year-old woman can expect to pay about $16 a month fo
Kiplinger •

Make the Most of Your Charitable Donations

When the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act nearly doubled the standard deduction starting with the 2018 tax year, charities and tax experts expected donations to drop. Nearly one-third of taxpayers itemized deductions—including charitable giving—before the tax law overhaul, and the number of itemizers fell to 11% in 2018. Because charitable givers would no longer have the same tax-deduction incentive, the thinking went, charitable giving would suffer. Indeed, giving by individual donors dipped 4.2% in 2018
Kiplinger •

How to Fix Your Credit Reports

Inaccurate information on your credit reports could hurt your credit score, and errors are not uncommon. Complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau about the major credit reporting agencies—Equifax, Experian and TransUnion—skyrocketed in 2020, and the majority concerned incorrect information, according to a report from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you have a right to dispute information in your credit reports that you believe is inaccu
Kiplinger •

Create a Financial Plan for Natural Disaster

Whether by cutting brush, adding storm shutters or building a safe room in the basement, there are many ways to mitigate the risks from natural disasters. Buying adequate insurance is critical too, of course. But there is another way you can prepare yourself against catastrophe, and no physical labor is required: getting your documents in order. There’s no worse time to lose access to the documents necessary to rebuild than in the aftermath of a storm. You should have a plan in place before disa

Contact Me

rivan.stinson@gmail.com