Lynnette Khalfani-Cox

Lynnette Khalfani-Cox (born 1968, New York) is an American personal finance adviser, radio personality, and author. Since 2008, she has given personal finance advice on the Russ Parr Morning Show, a radio show.

Born in Manhattan, New York and raised in Los Angeles, California, Khalfani-Cox holds a bachelor of arts in English from the University of California, Irvine and a master of arts in broadcast journalism from the University of Southern California (USC).

In 1992, while a student at USC, Khalfani-Cox began her career 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 Los Angeles riots. In 1993, she moved to Philadelphia, serving as a correspondent for the Philadelphia Inquirer by day, and at night working as a writer and assistant producer for the Fox 10 O'Clock News.

Khalfani-Cox joined Dow Jones & Company in 1994 as a reporter covering the brokerage industry, corporate finance and deal-making activities on Wall Street. During her tenure at Dow Jones, Khalfani-Cox held various positions, including Special Writer, Philadelphia bureau chief, Personal Finance Columnist, and Deputy Managing Editor for Dow Jones Newswires.

She was a Wall Street reporter for CNBC until 2003. After leaving her on-air reporting job at CNBC, she launched her brand as The Money Coach in 2003, and started an independent publishing company, Advantage World Press.

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 children between the ages of 5 and 12. In 2004 she released Zero Debt: The Ultimate Guide to Financial Freedom, which she says she wrote after having paid off $100,000 in credit card debt in three years. The book became a New York Times Best Seller.

As well as giving speeches and financial seminars around the country, 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.

Khalfani-Cox has contributed to Essence (magazine), Health and Black Enterprise magazines. She has been featured in the Washington Post, USA Today, Smart Money, and Redbook Magazine, and has appeared on Oprah, the Dr. Phil Show, and various other shows and networks. She has also appeared on reality TV shows such as Oprah's Big Give and Starting Over. In 2008, Khalfani-Cox started giving personal finance advice on a nationally syndicated radio station based in Maryland, the Russ Parr Morning Show.

Honors and awards

Khalfani-Cox is 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.

On July 7, 2007, she married Earl Cox, who is also her literary agent and business manager. In 2009, the couple launched The Zero Debt Tour, a national financial literacy campaign featuring free financial workshops and free copies of Khalfani-Cox's books for churches and non-profit agencies.

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