Meet our writers
Every Savings Mate article is written by someone with real Australian finance credentials — financial planners, registered tax agents, mortgage brokers and former financial counsellors.
Lisa Chen
Senior Finance Writer
Lisa spent seven years as a financial planner at a mid-tier firm in Melbourne before switching to finance writing full-time. She specialises in tax planning, superannuation strategy, and helping everyday Australians make sense of their money. She holds a Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning from Kaplan Professional.
GradDip Financial Planning, Kaplan Professional · 81 articles
James Hartley
Property & Lending Editor
James worked as a mortgage broker in Sydney for eight years before moving into personal finance journalism. He writes about stamp duty, property investment, home loans, and first home buyer schemes. He is a former member of the MFAA and holds a Cert IV in Finance & Mortgage Broking.
Cert IV Finance & Mortgage Broking, former MFAA member · 30 articles
Priya Sharma
Tax & Super Specialist
Priya is a registered tax agent who spent five years at a Big Four accounting firm before joining Savings Mate. She breaks down ATO rulings, tax offsets, and superannuation changes into plain English. Based in Brisbane, she holds a Master of Taxation from UNSW.
Registered Tax Agent, MTax UNSW · 35 articles
Ben Lawson
Budgeting & Debt Writer
Ben is a former financial counsellor who spent six years with a community legal centre in Adelaide, helping people deal with problem debt, Centrelink issues, and budgeting. He writes about savings strategies, debt management, and government assistance from a practical, no-judgement perspective.
Dip Financial Counselling, former community legal centre advisor · 41 articles