Professional background

Laura Castellano is the lead editorial reviewer at PayKedge, where he signs off on every money page, state hub, and research report before publication. He holds the Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) designation, earned an MBA from UCLA Anderson, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Notre Dame.

Laura spent the first decade of his career as a consumer-finance reporter at Reuters, covering credit-card pricing, mortgage policy, and the rise of online lending. His investigative work on tribal lending and rate-evasion structures was cited in two state-level enforcement actions and appeared in the Reuters Wealth section, Yahoo Finance syndication, and the AP wire.

In 2017 he completed the CFP certification and joined a fee-only Los Angeles planning firm serving households in the $75K-$250K income range — the same demographic that most often turns to small-dollar credit during income shocks. Over six years there he reviewed product disclosures for major consumer-media outlets as a paid subject-matter expert and testified twice at California state-assembly hearings on consumer-lending reform.

Laura joined PayKedge in 2024 as Editorial Reviewer. His review focus is checking that every money page presents the alternatives ladder honestly, that no claim about cost or APR is overstated or understated, and that source citations are current and accessible.

Certifications held

Certified Financial Planner (CFP®)
CFP® professional · Active since 2017
MBA
UCLA Anderson School of Management · 2014
BS Finance
University of Notre Dame · 2006
Years of experience
12 years in personal-finance journalism plus 6 years in CFP® practice

Fields of specialization

  • Consumer credit — pricing, disclosure compliance, comparative APR analysis
  • Debt-to-income analysis — borrower affordability and ability-to-repay frameworks
  • Small-dollar alternatives — credit-union PALs, EWA, 0% promotional credit
  • Retirement planning — 401(k) loan vs. payday loan tradeoffs, IRA hardship rules
  • Financial journalism — source verification, plain-language explainers

Pages Laura has reviewed

Laura signed off as reviewer on:

Disclosure of potential conflicts

Disclosure. Author owns no securities in companies covered. Compensated by PayKedge salary; no per-loan referral incentives. Discloses any continuing fee-only planning relationships to the editorial board; recused from any review involving a client. No advisory relationships with lenders, lead generators, or debt-relief firms.

How to reach her

For editorial review questions, contact editor@paykedge.com.