Journalist at Wharton|San Francisco Finds Plenty to Write about from Classmates and Curriculum

Whether it’s the legality of having your favorite clothes copied in China or the ins and outs of mortgage refinancing, second-year Wharton | San Francisco executive MBA student Jennifer Saranow Schultz covers it all as the lead writer for the Bucks Blog of the New York Times.  Writing three or four posts a day, Schultz provides tips and tricks to help consumers better manage their bucks.

While coming up with that many topics to write about every day might sound challenging, Schultz, who has been writing for the New York Times for a little over a year and was previously a journalist for the Wall Street Journal, says that Wharton has turned out to be a great source for blog ideas. “I find topics to write about from a lot of places, but being in school with 90 other people who are dealing with a range of issues like student loans and taxes has been great. Now that my classmates know that I write the blog, they’ll come to me with ideas and are really supportive,” she says.

Schultz has based several blogs on classroom discussions too. “We touched on IRAs in macroeconomics, which led to blog ideas,” says Schultz. “And my Negotiations class with Prof. Maurice Schweitzer has provided a wealth of ideas for posts including how we tested out what we learned in class about negotiating prices during our recent international seminar in China. Another topic that originated in class was whether it is legal to get clothes copied in Asia.”

As for balancing the deadlines with school, the San Francisco resident says that her East Coast hours have turned out to work very well with Wharton’s EMBA program. “I have to get my first post in by 7:30 a.m. Pacific Time so I can write before I leave for school. And on other days, it’s like a normal job, but on East Coast time which gives me a few extra hours to focus on school before the West Coast work day ends.”

If you have a personal finance question you’re wondering about, email it to Schultz at: Jennifer.saranowschultz@nytimes.com

Jim Wilson/The New York Times