Personal Finance Summit

Event Schedule

SABEW’s Personal Finance Summit, co-sponsored by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing (SABEW) and the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE), showcases the value of money reporting. Journalists of all backgrounds — print, digital, broadcast and more — will discover how personal finance stories can build trust and illustrate the impact of economic change. Attendees will come away with practical tools and insights to elevate their reporting, including tips for filing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, using AI effectively, finding relevant data, identifying key personal finance trends, sourcing consumers for stories and localizing national news.

This all-day event will show why every story is a money story — and how these stories can deliver big returns for your newsroom. Journalists will come away with fresh ideas and skills that will help them deliver the types of stories their audiences need.

Registration fees (includes lunch)

Registration is $100 for SABEW members, $175 for nonmembers, $50 for SABEW students and $100 for nonmember students. Nonmembers will receive a six-month SABEW membership as part of their registration for those that meet membership criteria. Lunch is included as part of your registration fee. Purchase your ticket below.

The schedule includes the following sessions:

So you cover money, now what? Reporting, writing and thriving on the personal finance beat. This session will teach you the basics of personal finance and what experts think you should know. From covering inflation, credit card debt or government policies on crypto, it helps to have a strong foundation. This session will cover essential finance concepts, career guidance and the realities of working the personal finance beat.

Telling local stories from national finance headlines. How do you take national finance news, from interest rate cuts to changes in student loan financing to labor force trends, and turn it into a story with strong relevance for your community? This session dives into finding good stories, sourcing, localization strategies and examples from local reporters who’ve done it well.

Putting the “person” in personal finance stories. In this panel, leading personal finance journalists share how they find and feature real people to bring money matters to life. From navigating student debt to budgeting for weight-loss drugs or retirement, these reporters discuss the art of sourcing compelling anecdotes, building trust with interviewees and balancing privacy with storytelling impact. Learn how personal narratives can illuminate broader economic trends—and why authenticity is key to making financial journalism resonate.

Whether you’re a reporter, editor or simply curious about how money stories are produced, this session offers practical insights for humanizing finance coverage in a way that informs, empowers and connects.

How we got to $400,000 college prices — and why almost no one pays it. New York Times Your Money columnist and best-selling author Ron Lieber shares insights from decades of reporting on the complex terrain of paying for college. With some colleges’ sticker prices surging into the six figures, paying for higher education has become one of the largest financial decisions families face. How did this happen, and can it possibly be worth it?

Standing guard: How to cover new and growing threats to consumers’ financial health. With a weakened Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and financial regulation in flux, what challenges do consumers face next, and how can journalists help them to safeguard their finances? Experts on the front lines share the trends, tactics and dangers they’re monitoring — and what reporters need to know to stay ahead of the story.

What AI means for covering money. AI is reshaping personal finance in terms of how people manage their money and how we report and write about it. Personal finance is getting more personalized, with chatbots and fintech tools that allow people to interrogate their bank statements and portfolios. This creates new risks and opportunities for our financial lives and for financial journalism.

Story sharing session. An open-mic opportunity for attendees to share successful personal finance stories they have produced. How did you find sources, localize the story, manage FOIA and any other tips to share with attendees that would be beneficial for them in producing stories?

Fellowship Opportunities

Fellowships are available for journalists focusing on inclusivity and reporting on consumer and personal finances for underserved and underrepresented communities. The fellowship covers registration and a travel stipend to offset lodging and transportation costs. This fellowship is funded by the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE). The application deadline is 5 p.m. ET Monday, September 22. Apply here.

Cancellations

Cancellations must be sent via email to [email protected]. All cancellations must be in writing. There is a $50 processing fee for all cancellations until September 26. After that date, requests for refunds will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

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