Helaine Olen is an American journalist and author based in New York. She is a columnist for The Washington Post and, before that, Slate, where she wrote the column The Bills. She is the author or co-author of three books: Office Mate (2007), Pound Foolish (2012), and The Index Card (2016).

Olen was born in the mid-1960s, and is Jewish.^[1][2] She graduated from Smith College with a BA in English, and earned an MA in journalism at the University of Minnesota.^[3][4][5]

She is a columnist for The Washington Post^[6] and, before that, Slate, where she wrote the column The Bills.

Olen is a contributor to Post Opinions.^[3] Her work has appeared in Slate, the Nation, the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Salon, Reuters, Rolling Stone, and the Atlantic.^[3][4][5] She was a lead writer and editor for The Los Angeles Times’ “Money Makeover” series.^[4] She has also appeared on "Frontline," the BBC, NPR, C-Span, MSNBC, "All Things Considered", and "The Daily Show."^[7][5]

Olen is the author or co-author of three books: Office Mate (2007), Pound Foolish (2012), and The Index Card (2016).^[5][3]

She serves on the advisory board of the Economic Hardship Reporting Project.^[3]

Olen is critical of the personal finance industry's typical advice to consumers, suggesting that it leaves them unprepared for major downturns such as market crashes, layoffs, and medical bills.^[8]

• Society of American Business Editors and Writers, Best in Business awards, Honorable Mention for Commentary, 2017;
• Society of American Business Editors and Writers, Best in Business awards, Personal Finance, 2016;
• National Women’s Political Caucus, Exceptional Merit in Media Award, 2013
• named one of Business Insider's "50 Women Who Are Changing the World"
• named one of the "Top 30 Most Influential People in Personal Finance and Wealth" by MoneyTips.^[3][7]

Olen is married to the script writer Matt Roshkow^[9] and has two sons; the family lives in New York City.^[10][3]

• Losee, Stephanie; Olen, Helaine (2007). Office mate: the employee handbook for finding – and managing – romance on the job. Avon, Mass.: Adams Media. ISBN 978-1598693300. OCLC 145431720.
• Olen, Helaine (2008). "The mean moms". In Shari MacDonald Strong (ed.). The maternal is political: women writers at the intersection of motherhood and social change. Berkeley, Calif.: Seal Press. ISBN 978-0786750757. OCLC 649315093.
• —— (2012). Pound foolish: exposing the dark side of the personal finance industry. New York: Portfolio/Penguin. ISBN 978-1591844891. OCLC 809989018.^[11][12]
• ——; Pollack, Harold (2016). The index card : why personal finance doesn't have to be complicated. New York. ISBN 978-1591847687. OCLC 928750850.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)