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Sarah Sharkey

Sarah Sharkey is a personal finance writer who covers banking, credit, student loans, and insurance for The College Investor. She has written for leading financial outlets including Bankrate, Business Insider, and more, helping readers make confident choices about borrowing, saving, and building wealth.

Sarah holds both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from the University of Florida, and her background in management and research informs her clear, practical approach to complex financial topics. 

Sarah’s latest articles

Just Keep Buying
April 1, 2022

Just Keep Buying By Nick Maggiulli Book Review

Just Keep Buying offers insightful investment and saving advice that’s backed up with lots of research. If you enjoy diving into the numbers, then you’ll really enjoy this book.

An isometric illustration depicts a man celebrating as he breaks through a red "RETIREMENT" banner, having outrun his office job, which is portrayed as a monstrous, wheeled desk with chains for legs. The man, dressed in a business suit, has his arms raised in triumph, symbolizing the achievement of financial independence and early retirement. The banner represents the goal of the F.I.R.E. (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement, while the desk-monster signifies the demanding nature of traditional work from which he has escaped. This visual metaphor highlights the article's discussion of disciplined savings strategies and the pursuit of freedom from financial survival to achieve a desired lifestyle.
October 25, 2021

What Is The FIRE Movement?

The FIRE movement encourages followers to pursue financial independence by increasing their savings. Learn the different type of F.I.R.E.

A digitally illustrated image depicts a stylized tree with green leaves, symbolizing growth and knowledge, against a clean white and gray gradient background. Instead of fruit, several colorful books with varying spine colors, including red, green, yellow, and blue, are nestled within the branches, suggesting that learning and reading are integral to development and financial success. The books appear to be "growing" from the tree, representing the accumulation of wisdom found in resources like "The F.I.R.E. Planner." In the bottom left corner, the logo for "The College Investor" is prominently displayed in red and white text, emphasizing the article's source and its focus on financial independence and educational content for investors. This visual reinforces the article's theme of using educational materials, such as Michael Quan's "The F.I.R.E. Planner" workbook, to cultivate financial independence goals and achieve financial freedom through practical advice and real-life experiences.
May 8, 2021

The F.I.R.E. Planner Book Review: A Thoughtful And Practical Read

The F.I.R.E. Planner explores the path to financial independence and offers practical steps to help you achieve your F.I.R.E. goals.

best budgeting systems and tools
March 3, 2021

5 Best Business Budgeting Systems And Tools

Businesses need budgets too! We compare the features and pricing of some of our favorite business budgeting systems and tools available today.

A tall, colorful stack of seven books, rendered in a flat, illustrative style, stands prominently against a gradient background that transitions from light pink at the top to a darker purplish-gray at the bottom. Each book has a distinct cover color, including shades of gold, white, light brown, dark gray, and reddish-brown, and several have red or tan bookmarks protruding from their tops. In the bottom left corner, the white text "COLLEGE INVESTOR" is clearly visible, identifying the source. This image visually represents the extensive knowledge and guidance offered in "The Price You Pay for College," a book reviewed in the article, emphasizing the comprehensive nature of understanding college costs, financial aid, and strategic financial decisions for families.
January 26, 2021

The Price You Pay For College Book Review

The Price You Pay For College is a book that can help you determine the value of a college for your child and, potentially, lower costs.

The Psychology of Money
November 9, 2020

The Psychology Of Money Book Review: Harness Your Financial Emotions

The Psychology of Money explores the emotional reasons people make bad financial decisions and offers plenty of tools for improvement.

This image is a graphic promoting a "Financial Residency Book Review," featuring a stylized depiction of financial planning. A large, open laptop dominates the center, with a small figure resembling a person standing on its keyboard, symbolizing engagement with digital finance. Behind the laptop, a bar graph with rising orange columns suggests growth and investment, while stacks of gold coins further emphasize wealth and savings. In the foreground, below the laptop, another smaller figure stands near a stack of green banknotes, reinforcing the theme of money management. The overall visual communicates the article's focus on helping physicians create comprehensive financial plans to achieve their desired lifestyle, as discussed in "Financial Residency: Create Your Financial Plan Without the Long Hours or Sleepless Nights" by Ryan and Taylor Inman.
August 8, 2020

Financial Residency Book Review: Guide To Physician Financial Planning

Financial Residency shows physicians how to create comprehensive financial plans that will enable them to live the life they truly want.

The image displays the book cover for "How Much Money Do I Need to Retire? Uncommon Financial Planning Wisdom for a Stress-Free Retirement." The title text is prominently featured, with "How Much Money Do I Need" in a smaller, dark green font and "TO RETIRE?" in a larger, bold dark green font, contrasting against a clean white background. Below the main title, the subtitle "Uncommon Financial Planning Wisdom for a Stress-Free Retirement" is written in a smaller, dark gray serif font. The bottom of the image shows the top portion of a metallic gold object, possibly a piggy bank or a decorative financial symbol, suggesting themes of savings and wealth. This book cover is directly relevant to the article, which discusses the book's contents, its approach to retirement planning, and why traditional models often have flawed assumptions, providing valuable insights for readers looking to accurately estimate their retirement number and achieve financial independence.
May 23, 2020

Book Review: How Much Money Do I Need To Retire? By Todd Tresidder

How Much Money Do I Need to Retire? reveals the flaws in many retirement formulas and shows a better way to calculate the money you’ll need.

This image features the title "SET FOR LIFE BOOK REVIEW" in bold, red and dark blue capital letters against a light blue background. Below the title, various stacks of books are depicted in an isometric, cartoonish style. In the upper section, a few blurred stacks of books are visible, while the lower section clearly displays two rows of brightly colored book stacks. These books, rendered with a simple yet appealing design, are arranged in small piles, some standing upright and others stacked horizontally, utilizing a palette of greens, blues, yellows, browns, and reds. The overall composition reinforces the article's focus on the "Set For Life" book, a no-nonsense guide to achieving financial freedom and dominating the American Dream, as written by Scott Trench. The image visually represents the concept of reading and learning, central to the book's plan for managing money and transforming one's life trajectory.
May 5, 2020

Set For Life Book Review

Set for Life is a book that gives readers a clear path to financial fredom and explains the hard choices that will be required along the way.

I Will Teach You To Be Rich
February 7, 2020

I Will Teach You To Be Rich — Book Review (A Must Read)

Learn about I Will Teach You To Be Rich, a book that aims to help you consider your priorities. Get your finances on track! Read about it!

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  • University of Florida, Master of Science in Management

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