Saeed Darabi

Founder & Independent Personal Finance Researcher, MoneyPantry (2013 to Present)

I arrived in the United States in 2002 as a refugee from Iran, at 20 years old, with no savings, no English, and no financial safety net. My education in personal finance didn't come from a classroom. It came from necessity.

Before launching MoneyPantry in 2013, I spent years testing every legitimate way I could find to earn extra money and stretch a dollar further. Survey sites, gig apps, cashback platforms, side hustles, and government assistance programs. I kept what worked and walked away from what didn't.

That hands-on foundation is what every article on MoneyPantry is built on. Every platform I feature has been either personally tested or thoroughly researched against primary sources, real user reports, and payout records. I look at reliability, real earning potential, hidden fees, and long-term legitimacy. If it doesn't hold up to that scrutiny, you won't find it here.

I'm not a traditional financial advisor. My expertise comes from over a decade of hands-on testing and real-world application, finding what actually works for everyday people trying to earn more and spend less.

Over the past 12+ years, MoneyPantry has served tens of millions of readers and has been cited by Business Insider, the TODAY Show, Good Housekeeping, Lifehacker, Newsweek, and others. The site holds an "Excellent" rating on Trustpilot.