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Lauren Nowacki

Senior writer, Loans
  • 13
    Years of personal finance experience
CD Icon LICENSE
  • NACCC Certified Financial Health Counselor
Ribbon Icon EXPERTISE
  • Personal loans
  • Debt management and consolidation
  • Mortgage loans
  • Personal finance
Education Icon EDUCATION
  • Bachelor of Arts, Alma College
  • Certified Marketing Professional, Association of National Advertisers

About the author

Lauren Nowacki joined the Bankrate Loans team in 2024, bringing more than a decade of experience writing about personal finance. As a former writer and editor for Rocket Mortgage, Rocket Loans and One Reverse Mortgage, Lauren is passionate about helping people confidently navigate their finances — at every age and stage in life. With expertise in home loans, personal loans, student loans and reverse mortgages, she strives to simplify complex loan products and processes.

There’s nothing Lauren enjoys more than finding data that tells a story that can educate and inspire a reader. Her reporting on previous studies has been featured in The New York Times, Entrepreneur, Forbes, GOBankingRates, MSN and Yahoo Finance.

When she isn’t writing articles or balancing her budget, Lauren enjoys camping with her family, hiking, traveling and telling anyone who’ll listen how she strategically obtained a perfect credit score.


Lauren wants you to know

When it comes to financial independence, preparation is key. Creating a strategy and giving yourself time can help you avoid having to borrow money. However, life is expensive and unpredictable. When necessary, loans can be a great financial tool — but, like any tool, they can either build or they can disassemble. Approaching your borrowing armed with knowledge and a plan can set you up for success and even help in other ways, like improving your credit score.

Lauren's latest articles

  • Edly Income-Based Loans

    Edly's income-based loans are best for students who don't need to borrow much.

    3 min read Jan 01, 2024
  • Best Refinance Student Loans In June 2025

    When you refinance your student loans, you may qualify for a lower interest rate and a different repayment timeline, which could help you save money on interest or lower your monthly payments.

    13 min read Dec 22, 2023
  • Laurel Road Student Loans

    Laurel Road's refinancing refinancing products cater to health care undergraduates, graduate students and workers.

    6 min read Nov 13, 2023
  • Alliant Credit Union Personal Loans

    The Alliant Credit Union personal loan is an excellent choice for individuals who have a respectable income and a strong credit history. It offers the advantage of no fees and no repercussions for settling your outstanding amount ahead of schedule.

    6 min read Oct 25, 2023
  • Student loans

    Pay for school the smart way. Find a winning lender with our list of the latest and greatest so you can focus on your school, not your school loans.

    1 min read Dec 17, 2022
  • Earnest

    Earnest is a loan servicer known primarily for its student loans. Earnest has partnered with Fiona, a lender matching platform, to help borrowers find, compare and choose from qualifying lenders.

    5 min read Nov 08, 2022
  • SoLo Funds App

    SoLo funds is best for those that are looking for peer-to-peer lending for smaller loans.

    7 min read Oct 19, 2022
  • MPOWER Student Loans

    MPOWER is best for international students who don't have a U.S. co-signer.

    6 min read Oct 19, 2022