Hilarey Gould Expertise: Personal Finance, Journalism, Digital Media, SEO, Social Media Title: Editorial Director, The Balance Education: University of Missouri, The College of New Jersey Location: New York, New York Highlights Has more than a decade of journalism experience working as an editorHolds a master's in journalism from the University of MissouriTeaches social media and SEO strategies to students at her alma mater, The College of New Jersey Experience Hilarey Gould (formerly Wojtowicz) is the editorial director of The Balance. During her time in the financial media space, she's developed a love for all things personal finance, from saving and investing money to credit card perks and mortgage rates.Hilarey has worked as an editor in the digital media industry for more than a decade. She began her career at TripAdvisor, and has since held full-time and freelance roles at both start-up and legacy brands such as Odyssey, realtor.com, Bankrate, Meredith Xcelerated Marketing (now part of Accenture), Swirled, and SmartAsset. She has been at The Balance since September 2019.When she's not editing articles on subjects like the best time to buy a home or how to plan for retirement, Hilarey works as an adjunct professor at The College of New Jersey. She began teaching social media strategies to journalism students in 2018, and has since developed another course on SEO.Hilarey has a master's in journalism from the University of Missouri, and a bachelor's in journalism and professional writing from The College of New Jersey. She also has a minor in communication studies. Hilarey was born and raised in New Jersey and still lives in the Garden State with her husband. Education Hilarey has a master's in journalism from the University of Missouri, and a bachelor's in journalism and professional writing from The College of New Jersey. She also has a minor in communication studies. About The Balance The Balance, a Dotdash Meredith brand, makes money easy to understand. We give people tools they need to not only make smart financial decisions but also prepare for the experiences they will have along the way. Our team of expert writers and editors have extensive qualifications in the topics they cover, and many of them have MBAs, PhDs, CFPs, and other advanced degrees and professional certifications. We require our writers to use primary sources in their articles, which are also approved by our Financial Review Board and fact-checked. You can learn more about the standards we follow in producing accurate, unbiased content in our editorial policy.