Marlese Lessing

Marlese Lessing has been a writer for Bankrate’s branded content team since 2022. She works to build hand-tailored content on behalf of Bankrate’s partners to inform readers of partner products and services.

Marlese has written branded content for a variety of verticals, including technology, networking and security. She’s worked in branded content for over five years, building out campaigns from scratch for companies of all sizes.

Marlese brings both a love of personal finance and storytelling to her content writing expertise.

Her favorite thing about writing branded content is building a personal connection with her audience and crafting a message that truly speaks to them about the challenges they’re facing in finance.

When she’s not crafting bespoke articles for Bankrate’s partners, Marlese enjoys hiking, playing Dungeons and Dragons, writing creative fiction and needlework.

Marlese earned her bachelor’s degree in animal science and journalism from the University of Connecticut.

Marlese wants you to know

Credit cards might seem scary, but they’re a tool in your financial arsenal. When Marlese signed up for her first student credit card in college, she was scared she was going to spend wildly and rack up debt. But by sticking to a budget, tracking her expenses carefully and paying off her card in full each month, not only did Marlese start building a great credit score, but she also snagged some sweet cash back rewards – which helped her get her first apartment out of school.

The lesson she learned: Don’t be scared off by credit cards! Marlese has since encouraged her sisters to start building their credit early with cards, and to use them wisely.