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Dana Miranda

Staff Writer

About

Dana Miranda is a Certified Educator in Personal Finance, creator of the Healthy Rich newsletter and author of You Don't Need a Budget: Stop Worrying about Debt, Spend without Shame, and Manage Money with Ease (Little, Brown Spark 2024). She’s been writing about making and managing money since 2015.

Dana Miranda is a Staff Writer for SMB at Forbes Advisor. She’s been writing about making and managing money since 2015. She’s been a freelancer and local business owner, and she began her career as hire No. 8 at a startup that grew to nearly 150 employees before being acquired for $100 million.

Dana is a Certified Educator in Personal Finance, creator of the Healthy Rich newsletter and author of You Don’t Need a Budget: Stop Worrying about Debt, Spend without Shame, and Manage Money with Ease (Little, Brown Spark 2024).

Dana has contributed to Fortune, Business Insider, Inc., CNET, Salon, CNBC, TIME, the New York Times and more.

Expertise

  • Company formation
  • Legal
  • Taxes
  • Accounting & bookkeeping
  • Freelancing

Achievements

  • Certified Educator in Personal Finance® (CEPF®)
  • Creator of the Healthy Rich newsletter
  • Author of You Don’t Need a Budget (Little, Brown Spark, 2024)
  • Business/finance journalist since 2011

Other Publications

Education

University of Wisconsin—Madison

Professional Memberships

  • National Writers Union
  • Authors Guild
  • Freelancers Union
  • ACES: The Society for Editors

  • U.S. Digital Tipping Culture Survey: 1 In 3 People Feel Pressured To Tip

    Tipping for services has always presented unique challenges. Digital tipping—a service that allows customers to tip using a point-of-sale system rather than cash—has exacerbated tipping fatigue and overall tipping confusion. And an uptick in digital payments—the total value of digital...
    U.S. Digital Tipping Culture Survey: 1 In 3 People Feel Pressured To Tip

  • Internet Safety: 12 Do’s And Don’ts

    In an increasingly interconnected digital landscape, internet safety is paramount for businesses. Proper precautions can protect your company’s sensitive information, mitigate cyber threats and foster a culture of cybersecurity. From implementing strong security measures to thoroughly educating employees on their...
    Internet Safety: 12 Do’s And Don’ts

  • 10 Management Styles Of Effective Leaders

    Effective management of any size team requires a specific set of skills that go well beyond the ones you might have developed as an individual contributor in an organization. More than evaluating employees and meeting project deadlines, your job as...
    10 Management Styles Of Effective Leaders

  • How To Start A Business In Alabama

    Alabama is among the top states for doing business, so if you’re already living there and want to get a small business off the ground, you’re in luck. You must file formation papers with the state if you are beginning...
    How To Start A Business In Alabama

  • How To Start A Business In Hawaii

    Starting a business in Hawaii is relatively simple and similar to getting a business up and running in any other state. You must file formation papers with the state if you are beginning any business that is not a sole...
    How To Start A Business In Hawaii

  • How To Start A Business In Tennessee

    Starting a business in Tennessee is straightforward and similar to starting a business in any other state. You must file formation papers with the state if you are beginning any business that is not a sole proprietorship or general partnership....
    How To Start A Business In Tennessee

  • How To Start A Business In Virginia

    Starting a business in Virginia doesn’t have to be complicated. To get your business officially up and running, you’ll need to name your business, choose a type of business entity, register the business, get tax ID numbers and apply for...
    How To Start A Business In Virginia

  • HR Compliance: The Ultimate Guide

    One important role of a human resource leader within a business is to ensure a safe, healthy, fair and equitable workplace for employees. That means overseeing an organization’s adherence to laws and regulations governing labor practices to ensure what’s called...
    HR Compliance: The Ultimate Guide

  • Top Paychex Competitors

    If you’ve been using Paychex or Paychex Flex for your small business, you might be looking for a more affordable solution or a platform with more features and a simpler user experience. Forbes Advisor rated the top Paychex competitors to...
    Top Paychex Competitors

  • 10 Best Designed Websites Built On Platforms Anyone Can Use

    Whether you run an online or brick-and-mortar business, a website is an important way for customers to find and learn more about you. Creating a stunning, professional website is simple and affordable for any business thanks to a plethora of...
    10 Best Designed Websites Built On Platforms Anyone Can Use

  • Best POS Systems For Grocery Stores

    A point-of-sale (POS) system is vital for any retail business, and your needs are particularly complex for a POS system for a grocery store. Groceries need to be able to accept in-person transactions in multiple forms, scan barcodes easily, process...
    Best POS Systems For Grocery Stores

  • Best Restaurant Payroll Software

    Managing payroll and benefits for employees can be a daunting task for a small business owner, but online payroll services take much of the work off your plate. The best restaurant payroll software can handle fluctuating staffing levels, tips and...
    Best Restaurant Payroll Software

  • Gusto Vs. Justworks Comparison

    Growing your small business comes with a lot of advantages and excitement. However, one drawback is the added complexity and cost of hiring, managing and paying workers. Online payroll and human resources (HR) platforms can help you manage those new...
    Gusto Vs. Justworks Comparison

  • Payroll Tax Rates: Everything You Need To Know

    Payroll taxes are the payments you as an employer make when you run payroll for employees. They include taxes that come out of an employee’s pay plus costs you cover for federal, state and local programs. The payroll tax rate...
    Payroll Tax Rates: Everything You Need To Know

  • Part Time Vs. Full Time: Key Differences You Should Know

    When you're hiring employees, a key part of shaping a role is to define how many hours you'll need an employee to work for your business. Should you hire part-time or full-time employees? What are your responsibilities to each? Is...
    Part Time Vs. Full Time: Key Differences You Should Know

  • Gross Pay Vs. Net Pay: What’s The Difference?

    When you hire your first employee—or pay yourself from your business—you become responsible for payroll. That means it's time to understand the numbers that go into an employee's paycheck, including the difference between gross pay vs, net pay. In this...
    Gross Pay Vs. Net Pay: What’s The Difference?

  • SumUp Vs. Square POS Comparison

    You've probably gotten used to seeing sleek white card readers and tablets gracing the checkout line of your favorite coffee shops and retail boutiques. These modern point-of-sale (POS) systems are replacing clunkier computer towers and credit card machines inside small...
    SumUp Vs. Square POS Comparison

  • 1099 Vs. W-2: What’s The Difference?

    It's a big step for any business to hire an employee. Starting with contractors or gig workers could be a smart step to help your business grow without taking on the responsibility of full-time employees—but you have to know the...
    1099 Vs. W-2: What’s The Difference?

  • W-2 Vs. W-4: What’s The Difference?

    Both the W-2 and W-4 forms are tax-related forms for employees of all businesses. As a business owner, you have to file these forms for all part-time and full-time employees. You must also file their counterparts, the 1099 and W-9...
    W-2 Vs. W-4: What’s The Difference?

  • W9 Vs. W2: What’s The Difference?

    Both W-2 and W-9 forms are tax forms for workers in any kind of business. But each form has a distinct purpose and they're relevant for different kinds of workers. As a business owner, you have to know who each...
    W9 Vs. W2: What’s The Difference?

  • Hourly Wage vs. Salary: Differences, Pros & Cons

    You have a lot of decisions to make when you hire an employee. One of the biggest decisions is whether to structure the role as a salaried or hourly employee. How you pay an employee―in addition to how much―could determine...
    Hourly Wage vs. Salary: Differences, Pros & Cons

  • DBA Registration Guide: How To File A DBA

    A doing business as (DBA) name is useful for any business that wants to rebrand or relaunch without creating an entirely new business entity. It's also useful for small businesses that don't wish to incorporate or form a limited liability...
    DBA Registration Guide: How To File A DBA

  • Wave Vs. QuickBooks Comparison

    Note: As of May 31, 2024, Intuit has revamped its QuickBooks pricing and product structure. Support has ended for QuickBooks Desktop, QuickBooks Desktop Pro and QuickBooks Desktop Premier. New customers can still sign on for a yearly subscription to QuickBooks...
    Wave Vs. QuickBooks Comparison

  • How To Pay Yourself From An LLC

    Once you’ve set up an LLC, running your business gets a little more involved than it would be if you were earning money from providing goods or services as an individual. To make it even more complex, the IRS throws...
    How To Pay Yourself From An LLC

  • Microsoft Planner Vs. Trello Comparison

    The Kanban board has proven to be a useful and popular project management method, and many tools are built around it. Both Microsoft Planner and Trello emphasize this planning style with their project management apps. In this review of Microsoft...
    Microsoft Planner Vs. Trello Comparison

  • Notion Vs. Asana Comparison

    Since the dawn of agile project management methods, developers have continued to give us new tools to organize information and communicate with our teams better. Two popular tools, Notion and Asana, represent the rapid innovation happening in this space and...
    Notion Vs. Asana Comparison

  • How To Accept ACH Payments As A Freelancer Or Small Business

    Getting paid as a small business owner, especially if you operate primarily online, can be tricky business. It can also get expensive. Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments are a way to get paid smoothly, quickly and relatively cheaply, so you...
    How To Accept ACH Payments As A Freelancer Or Small Business

  • The Best Legal Billing Software

    Law firms have particularly unique, if not complex, billing needs. Even solo practitioners and small firms have to track and allocate hours to clients, account for retainers and manage a variety of rates and billing options. And lawyers have to...
    The Best Legal Billing Software

  • Indeed Vs. LinkedIn: Which Job Board Will Help You Score Your Next Hire?

    Workers are in high demand in our current economy, which gives them their pick of employers. When you’re hiring, you have to stand out in the right way to the right job seekers to connect with the people who will...
    Indeed Vs. LinkedIn: Which Job Board Will Help You Score Your Next Hire?

  • How To Hire Employees

    Not everyone starts a business knowing how to hire employees—many of us have to learn along the way. This learning curve is part of owning a business, though this can come with some serious pitfalls, from creating poor team dynamics...
    How To Hire Employees

About

Dana Miranda is a Certified Educator in Personal Finance, creator of the Healthy Rich newsletter and author of You Don't Need a Budget: Stop Worrying about Debt, Spend without Shame, and Manage Money with Ease (Little, Brown Spark 2024). She’s been writing about making and managing money since 2015.