Articles — Vanessa McGrady

An award-winning writer and editor

I am a career journalist and lifelong learner. I love to write about philanthropy, business, feminist parenting, personal finance and travel.

When you hire me, I’ll deliver clean copy on time—or even early. I’m an idea powerhouse and will happily craft pitches to meet your publication’s unique needs.

Personal finance & career

Read me on Forbes.com, where I wrote more than 100 stories on personal finance for families, becoming a savvier shopper, and spiritual prosperity.

Disrupting Loneliness: How Cat Moore’s Quest for Connection Finally Clicked (Dell Perspectives)

Less Stuff, More Fun: Gift Ideas Beyond the Box (Citi)

It’s All Relative: How To Successfully Manage in a Family Run Business (SHRM)

Financial Lessons From My Parents—And What I Had To Learn Myself (GOOD Magazine)

How to Do a Kitchen Remodel While Saving Money (Next Avenue)

7 Things Not to Say at Work (Oprah.com)

6 Things You Must Know About Buying a Car (Oprah.com)

Environment

New Consumer Model May End Paper Towels for Good (Dell Perspectives, winner ASJA writing award)

The Philanthropic Spark: A Lucky Pair (Cedars-Sinai)

My Personal Power Play: One Woman’s Eco-Evolution from Off the Grid to On the Clock (Grist.org)

Green Up Your Act (Parent & Child)

Bright Ideas (Parent & Child)

A blonde Walks into a Blog: Interview with Daryl Hannah (Grist.org)

Philanthropy and community health stories for Kaiser Permanente

Parenting & relationships

LA Affairs: The Sheer Exhaustion of Dating as a Single Mom (LA Times)

Three Cakes, A Mystery Pie, and Coffee: How We Measure Pandemic Time In Food (Medium, Food)

When My Daughter Asked if Santa Was Real, I Said Yes (Washington Post)

Books on Adoption (Read It Forward)

5 Things Every Kid Needs to Hear Before the Holidays (What’s Up Moms)

But Where’s She *From* From, and Other Adoption Qs That Sting (What’s Up Moms)

I Won’t Let My 4-Year-Old Daughter Grow Up Stepping Aside For Sexism, Like I Did (Jezebel)

3 Miscarriages and a Miracle (Jezebel)

My Daughter Dressed Like Elsa From “Frozen” for 23 Days — And It Was Amazing (Salon)

Why Egg Freezing Benefits Aren’t Even Close to Enough (Jezebel)

The Elaborate Replacement Teddy Bear Hoax (New York Times)

The Birth Parents Move In (New York Times)

Why I Will Never Tell My Daughter to Give You a Hug (Jezebel)

Health & Beauty

Show It Like It Is: A Group of Women Bare Everything to the Camera to Show All Bodies Are Perfect (Seattle Times)

The Universe Within: How Gut Bacteria Influence Our Health (Herbalife, for Dr. David Heber, M.D., Ph.D., FACP, FASN, Chairman, Herbalife Nutrition Institute)

CES 2020: Here’s a Sneak Peak Into the Future of Beauty Tech (Orange Twist, unbylined)

Your Year of Wellness: Upgrading Your Life from the Inside Out (Orange Twist, unbylined)

The New Beauty Rules: This Isn’t Your Grandma’s Facelift (Orange Twist, unbylined)