Skip to content NerdWallet Home Page NerdWallet Home Page
Alana Benson's avatar

Alana Benson

Senior Writer
Expertise
  • Investing for beginners •
  • financial advice •
  • long-term investing
How I Think About Money “Money is a tool that helps us live our best lives, but it's easy to feel shame, intimidation, fear and other intense emotions around it. Understanding what to do with your money can help ease those feelings and let you move on to truly living.”
6+ Years of Experience
130+ Articles Written
5.4M+ Readers Reached
Previous experience
Writer at LexisNexis, writer at Rosen Publishing, writer at the Lander Journal
Education
Dual B.A. in English and classical civilizations from the University of Vermont
Alana Benson is an investing writer who joined NerdWallet in 2019. She covers a wide variety of investing topics including stocks, socially responsible investing, cryptocurrency, mutual funds, HSAs and financial advice. She is also a frequent contributor to NerdWallet's "Smart Money" podcast. Alana has appeared on FOX Houston and the "PennyWise" podcast and has been quoted in MarketWatch and The Sun. Before joining NerdWallet, she wrote two books on identity theft and several young adult nonfiction titles. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Associated Press, MSN, Yahoo Finance and MarketWatch. She is based in Wyoming.
Published in
Chicago Sun-times logo
Entrepreneur logo
Marketwatch logo
Nasdaq.com logo

Products that deliver

Tools that work, so you don't have to

Curated financial resources
Financial planning tools
How To Build a Low-Cost Portfolio with Index Funds | NerdWallet
Featured video

How To Build a Low-Cost Portfolio with Index Funds | NerdWallet

Building the best investment portfolio for you can be challenging. There are lots of investment choices — how do you know which is the best? That's where index funds come in, which can help you build a well-diversified portfolio instantly while still allowing you to take advantage of stock market returns. Suggested Articles: How to Invest in Index Funds and Best Index Funds of August 2022 - https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/investing/how-to-invest-in-index-funds What Is an Index Fund? An Easy Way to Enter the Stock Market - https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/investing/what-is-an-index-fund #NerdWallet #IndexFunds #FinancialEducation Subscribe to NerdWallet - https://bit.ly/3wGvVf3 About NerdWallet: We’re NerdWallet. And we’re not your typical finance company. We believe that everyone should be able to make financial decisions with confidence. We’ve built a team of Nerds with the knowledge, passion, and skills to make that happen. Thanks to our Nerdy experts, see side-by-side comparisons and objective reviews of the best credit cards, bank accounts, and so much more — so you can get even more financial clarity. It’s the smartest decision for all your financial decisions. Disclaimer: This video is for informational and educational purposes only. NerdWallet does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks or securities. Any comments posted under NerdWallet's official account videos are not reviewed or endorsed by NerdWallet or representatives of financial institutions affiliated with the reviewed products unless explicitly stated otherwise. Avoid disclosing personal or sensitive information such as bank accounts or phone numbers. NerdWallet employees do not offer personalized financial advice and will not respond to posts here. Connect with NerdWallet: Follow NerdWallet on TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@nerdwallet Follow NerdWallet on Instagram: https://instagram.com/nerdwallet Follow NerdWallet on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NerdWallet Follow NerdWallet on Facebook: https://facebook.com/NerdWallet NerdWallet Website: https://nerdwallet.com Build a Low-Cost Portfolio with Index Funds | NerdWallet https://www.youtube.com/c/nerdwallet

The latest from Alana