Lynnette Khalfani-Cox

Lynnette Khalfani-Cox (born 1968, New York) is an American personal finance expert, radio and television personality, and New York Times best-selling author. Known nationwide as “The Money Coach,” Khalfani-Cox is the founder of TheMoneyCoach.net, a financial education website. Her parents are Lucille Darrell and Michael Darrell. Her father is an actor who appeared in the Steven Spielberg film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in the role as the Van Driver.

Khalfani-Cox has contributed to Essence (magazine), Health and Black Enterprise magazines. She has been featured in publications ranging from the Washington Post and USA Today to Smart Money and Redbook Magazine. Additionally, Khalfani-Cox has appeared on Oprah Are You Ready for a Windfall 2006, the Dr. Phil Show Where'd the Money Go, the Tyra Banks Show, Rachael Ray, and on numerous news programs on networks ranging from CNN and MSNBC to FOX Business Network and BET. Lynnette has also appeared on reality television shows such as Oprah's Big Give and the Emmy Award winning TV series Starting Over. In 2008, Lynnette started giving personal finance tips on Russ Parr, a nationally syndicated radio station based in Maryland.

Khalfani-Cox maintains an active presence on many social networks including Facebook, where she answers personal finance questions from her fans and followers. Lynnette also uses Twitter to let her followers know when she is going to appear on television or radio.

Biography

Born in Manhattan, New York and raised in Los Angeles, California, Khalfani-Cox holds a BA in English from the University of California, Irvine and a Master of Arts in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Southern California. While earning her graduate degree in Journalism, Khalfani-Cox began her career in 1992 as a reporter for the Associated Press in Los Angeles, where she covered local news, community re-development and business activities in the aftermath of the L.A. riots. In 1993, she moved to Philadelphia, serving as a correspondent for the Philadelphia Inquirer by day, and at night working as a writer/assistant producer for the FOX 10 O’Clock News in the City of Brotherly Love.

Khalfani-Cox joined Dow Jones & Co. in 1994 as a reporter covering the brokerage industry, corporate finance and deal-making activities on Wall Street. During her tenure of nearly a decade at Dow Jones, Khalfani-Cox rose through the ranks, holding positions of increased responsibility. She was a Special Writer, Philadelphia bureau chief, Personal Finance Columnist, and Deputy Managing Editor for Dow Jones Newswires, as well as a Wall Street Journal reporter for CNBC, a position she held until 2003. After leaving her on-air reporting job at CNBC, Khalfani-Cox launched her brand as The Money Coach in 2003, and created an independent publishing company, Advantage World Press.

To date, Khalfani-Cox has written six personal finance books for adults, and has co-authored The Millionaire Kids Club, a series of four money-management books for youngsters between the ages of 5 and 12. Khalfani-Cox is perhaps best known for her New York Times best-seller,Zero Debt: The Ultimate Guide to Financial Freedom, which she wrote in 2004 after paying off $100,000 in credit card debt in just three years.

In addition to giving motivational speeches and financial seminars nationwide, Khalfani-Cox is on the board of directors of WorldofMoney.org, a New York City-based non-profit agency that teaches financial literacy skills to underprivileged teenagers.

On July 7, 2007, she married Earl Cox, who is also her literary agent and business manager. In 2009, the couple launched and underwrote The Zero Debt Tour, a national financial literacy campaign featuring free financial workshops and complimentary copies of Khalfani-Cox’s books for churches, non-profit agencies and their constituents. Lynnette launched the tour during an appearance on Fox and Friends on the Fox News Channel.

Khalfani-Cox and her husband live in northern New Jersey with their three children.

Awards and recognition

Khalfani-Cox was a two-time recipient of the Dow Jones International News Award (in 1996 and 1998) for her reporting of financial scams and Wall Street trends.

In 2009, Khalfani-Cox and co-author Susan Beacham received an Excellence in Financial Literacy Education (EIFLE) Award from the Institute for Financial Literacy for The Millionaire Kids Club. The Institute recognized the first three books in the series as Retail Book of the Year, in the category of money-management books for children.

External links

• Official Website
• Official Twitter Feed
• Official Facebook Page
• TheMoneyCoach.net Blog
• Works by or about Lynnette Khalfani-Cox in libraries (WorldCat catalog)