Editorial Standards
How FMB earns your trust.
FinanceMythBusters publishes financial education designed to make complicated decisions easier to understand. Every article is written and managed by an anonymous CPA founder using clear sourcing, visible assumptions, practical context, and editorial independence.
Our Editorial Principles
The standards that guide every FMB article
FinanceMythBusters is built around a simple responsibility: provide financial education that is accurate, understandable, transparent, and useful. These principles guide how topics are selected, researched, written, reviewed, and updated.
Accuracy Before Speed
FMB prioritizes getting the information right over publishing quickly. Important claims are checked against credible sources, relevant rules, and available evidence before publication.
Material factual claims should be supportable and verifiable.Sources Should Be Visible
Readers should be able to understand where important information comes from. FMB identifies relevant government guidance, research, regulations, data, and other credible references.
Sources should be relevant, credible, and reasonably current.Context Over Absolutes
Financial decisions rarely have one answer for everyone. FMB explains the assumptions, variables, tradeoffs, and limitations that may materially change a conclusion.
Avoid universal recommendations when the answer depends.Practical, Not Sensational
FMB does not use exaggerated claims, manufactured urgency, or fear-based language to attract attention. Content should help readers think more clearly, not pressure them into acting.
Headlines and conclusions should reflect the actual analysis.Editorial Independence
Advertising, affiliate relationships, sponsorships, and business partnerships do not determine FMB’s editorial opinions, research findings, verdicts, or conclusions.
Commercial relationships should be clearly disclosed.Accountability and Updates
Financial rules and guidance change. FMB reviews content when meaningful updates are identified and corrects material errors rather than allowing known inaccuracies to remain.
Corrections and material revisions should be handled transparently.FMB’s responsibility is to help readers understand financial information—not to sell certainty, promote unnecessary products, or present general education as personalized advice.
Research and Source Standards
Important claims should be supported by credible evidence.
FMB uses a practical source hierarchy that gives the greatest weight to primary, authoritative, and directly relevant information. The quality of a conclusion depends not only on the number of sources used, but also on their authority, relevance, methodology, and currency.
Evidence Hierarchy
Sources are evaluated by authority and relevance
The appropriate source depends on the claim being tested. FMB generally prioritizes the following categories in order.
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Primary and official sources
Laws, regulations, government guidance, official forms, court decisions, agency publications, original datasets, plan documents, and other materials closest to the rule or fact being discussed.
Government agencies Statutes and regulations Official datasets -
Original research and established institutions
Peer-reviewed research, academic studies, recognized nonprofit research organizations, professional bodies, and established institutions with transparent methods.
Academic research Professional organizations Institutional analysis -
Reputable secondary analysis
High-quality reporting, technical explanations, industry analysis, and expert commentary may help provide context when they accurately represent stronger underlying sources.
Established publications Technical commentary Industry research -
Illustrative and anecdotal information
Personal examples, surveys, social discussions, and individual experiences may identify useful questions, but they are not treated as proof of a universal claim.
Reader questions Personal experiences Public discussions
How sources appear in FMB content
Important factual claims should be linked or cited close enough to the relevant discussion for readers to understand what the source supports. Source lists may also appear at the end of an article for additional context and review.
- Citations should support the stated claim
- Sources should not be quoted out of context
- Conflicting evidence should be acknowledged
Fact-Checking and Review Process
Every article moves through a consistent review process.
FMB content is reviewed for factual accuracy, source support, calculation logic, context, disclosures, and plain-language clarity before publication. The level of review may vary based on the complexity and risk of the subject.
Define the Question
The article begins with a specific financial claim, reader question, decision, or assumption that can be clearly examined.
Avoid changing the claim during the analysisResearch the Evidence
Relevant rules, official guidance, studies, datasets, and credible secondary sources are gathered and evaluated.
Prioritize authoritative and current sourcesCheck the Numbers
Calculations, examples, limits, percentages, timelines, and comparisons are reviewed for mathematical and logical consistency.
Make material assumptions visibleReview the Context
The draft is checked for important tradeoffs, exceptions, limitations, alternative viewpoints, and circumstances that may change the conclusion.
Avoid presenting conditional answers as universalComplete the Final Review
The article is reviewed for clarity, headline accuracy, citations, disclosures, educational boundaries, and overall usefulness before publication.
Confirm the conclusion matches the evidencePre-Publication Checklist
What is reviewed before an article goes live
The checklist is designed to reduce avoidable errors and make the reasoning behind an article easier for readers to evaluate.
- Factual claims Are significant statements accurate and supported?
- Dates and limits Are time-sensitive values tied to the correct period?
- Calculations Are examples mathematically consistent and reproducible?
- Assumptions Can readers see what must be true for the analysis to apply?
- Citations Do references directly support the nearby claim?
- Conflicts and disclosures Are relevant commercial relationships clearly identified?
- Headline accuracy Does the title fairly represent the article’s conclusion?
- Educational boundaries Is general education clearly separated from personal advice?
Corrections and Content Updates
Accuracy includes correcting and updating published work.
Financial information can change, and errors can occur despite a careful review process. When FMB identifies a meaningful issue, the goal is to correct it promptly, preserve useful context, and communicate material changes clearly.
How Changes Are Handled
Different changes require different treatment
Not every edit changes an article’s meaning. FMB distinguishes between routine maintenance, substantive updates, and corrections to material inaccuracies.
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Routine maintenance
Minor grammar, formatting, readability, link, or presentation improvements may be made without a formal correction notice when they do not alter the article’s meaning.
No material conclusion changed -
Substantive content updates
Articles may be updated when tax limits, regulations, guidance, research, products, data, or other important information changes after publication.
Updated date or note may be added -
Material factual corrections
When an error affects an important fact, calculation, interpretation, comparison, or conclusion, FMB will correct the content and may include a visible correction notice.
Meaningful errors are acknowledged -
Major revisions or withdrawal
Content may be substantially rewritten, archived, or removed when it is no longer reliable, useful, legally appropriate, or capable of being corrected through a limited edit.
Used when ordinary correction is insufficient
Email the article URL, the information you believe is inaccurate, and any relevant supporting source to hello@financemythbusters.com. Submissions are reviewed, but a correction is made only when the available evidence supports a change.
Editorial Independence and Monetization
Revenue may support FMB. It does not control the conclusions.
FinanceMythBusters may earn revenue through advertising, partnerships, affiliate relationships, sponsorships, products, or other commercial arrangements. These relationships help support the site, but they do not purchase favorable coverage or determine what FMB concludes, recommends, criticizes, or publishes.
How FMB May Earn Revenue
Commercial relationships should be visible
FMB may use one or more of the following revenue models. The presence of a commercial relationship should be disclosed in a way readers can reasonably understand.
Display advertisements may appear on the site. Advertisers do not review or approve unrelated editorial content.
Advertising should be identifiableFMB may receive compensation when a reader uses a qualifying link. This should not increase the reader’s price unless clearly stated.
Compensation disclosedA company may support a newsletter, resource, series, or project. Sponsored material should be labeled accordingly.
Sponsor relationship labeledFMB may offer paid tools, guides, templates, courses, memberships, or other resources developed for readers.
Price and terms presented clearlyDisclosures may appear at the beginning of an article, near a link, inside a sponsored resource, or wherever the relationship is most relevant. Additional terms are available in the FMB Disclaimer and partnership information.
Editorial Independence and Monetization
Revenue may support FMB. It does not control the conclusions.
FinanceMythBusters may earn revenue through advertising, partnerships, affiliate relationships, sponsorships, products, or other commercial arrangements. These relationships help support the site, but they do not purchase favorable coverage or determine what FMB concludes, recommends, criticizes, or publishes.
How FMB May Earn Revenue
Commercial relationships should be visible
FMB may use one or more of the following revenue models. The presence of a commercial relationship should be disclosed in a way readers can reasonably understand.
Display advertisements may appear on the site. Advertisers do not review or approve unrelated editorial content.
Advertising should be identifiableFMB may receive compensation when a reader uses a qualifying link. This should not increase the reader’s price unless clearly stated.
Compensation disclosedA company may support a newsletter, resource, series, or project. Sponsored material should be labeled accordingly.
Sponsor relationship labeledFMB may offer paid tools, guides, templates, courses, memberships, or other resources developed for readers.
Price and terms presented clearlyDisclosures may appear at the beginning of an article, near a link, inside a sponsored resource, or wherever the relationship is most relevant. Additional terms are available in the FMB Disclaimer and partnership information.
Use of AI and Technology
Technology may support the work. It does not replace editorial judgment.
FMB may use artificial intelligence, software, calculators, research databases, automation, and other digital tools to support parts of the publishing process. However, the anonymous CPA founder remains responsible for the accuracy, reasoning, disclosures, and final content published by FMB.
Appropriate Supporting Uses
How technology may assist the publishing process
Tools may improve efficiency, organization, presentation, and readability. Their output is treated as working material that may require verification, revision, or rejection.
Tools may help organize questions, identify areas requiring research, structure notes, or surface potential sources for independent review.
Sources still verifiedTechnology may assist with outlines, alternative phrasing, summaries, grammar, readability, formatting, and content organization.
Final wording reviewedSpreadsheets, code, calculators, and other tools may help model examples, compare scenarios, or check mathematical consistency.
Logic and inputs reviewedTools may assist with charts, diagrams, page layouts, graphics, code, accessibility checks, and other production tasks.
Presentation reviewedFMB aims to use technology in a way that respects reader privacy, intellectual property, source attribution, and the distinction between real information and generated material.
- Sensitive reader information should not be unnecessarily entered into public AI systems.
- AI-generated citations, quotations, or statistics must not be presented without verification.
- Generated visuals should not misrepresent real events, people, documents, or financial results.
- Third-party material should not be reproduced in a way that improperly replaces or copies the original work.
- Material technology-assisted errors are handled under the FMB corrections policy.
- Additional disclosure may be provided when the role of generated material is important to understanding the content.
Educational Content Boundaries
Financial education can inform a decision. It cannot make the decision for you.
FMB provides general financial education and analytical frameworks. Articles, calculators, examples, and other resources are not designed to evaluate every fact relevant to an individual reader and should not be treated as personalized professional advice.
Information, context, and frameworks
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Plain-language explanations
General explanations of taxes, compensation, investing, cash flow, insurance, retirement, and major financial decisions.
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Illustrative calculations
Examples and calculators that demonstrate how selected assumptions may affect an estimated result.
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Decision-making questions
Factors readers may consider, questions they may ask, and tradeoffs that may deserve further review.
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Evidence-based analysis
Research and source-supported discussions of commonly repeated financial claims and assumptions.
Personalized professional advice
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Individual tax or accounting advice
FMB does not prepare returns, review personal records, determine filing positions, or provide individualized accounting conclusions through published content.
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Investment recommendations
Content does not direct a reader to buy, sell, hold, or allocate assets based on their complete financial situation.
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Legal or regulatory advice
FMB does not form an attorney-client relationship, interpret documents for a reader, or advise how laws apply to a particular dispute or transaction.
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Guaranteed outcomes
No article, calculator, example, or framework can guarantee tax savings, investment returns, financial performance, or any other result.
For filing positions, elections, entity matters, reporting, compliance, and tax consequences based on personal facts.
For contracts, estate documents, legal rights, business structures, disputes, and jurisdiction-specific legal issues.
For recommendations that account for goals, portfolio, risk tolerance, time horizon, liquidity, and other personal facts.
For coverage terms, underwriting, exclusions, claims, workplace benefits, and suitability of specific policies.
Reading an article, submitting a question, using a calculator, subscribing to a newsletter, or contacting FMB does not create an accountant-client, adviser-client, attorney-client, fiduciary, or other professional relationship.
Questions, Feedback, and Accountability
Editorial standards should remain open to scrutiny.
Readers are encouraged to question FMB’s evidence, calculations, disclosures, and conclusions. Thoughtful feedback can help identify missing context, outdated information, unclear explanations, or potential errors that deserve additional review.
Report a possible error
Contact FMB when you believe an article contains an inaccurate fact, calculation, citation, date, limit, interpretation, or material omission.
- Include the article URL
- Identify the specific statement
- Share relevant supporting sources
Ask about an editorial standard
Readers may ask how FMB selects sources, evaluates claims, reviews calculations, handles corrections, or separates editorial work from commercial activity.
- Research and citation questions
- AI and technology questions
- Review and disclosure questions
Raise a disclosure concern
Contact FMB when an advertisement, affiliate link, sponsorship, partnership, or other commercial relationship appears unclear or insufficiently disclosed.
- Identify the page or placement
- Explain what appeared unclear
- Include a screenshot when helpful
Contact FinanceMythBusters
Send editorial feedback directly to FMB.
Email hello@financemythbusters.com with a clear subject line and enough detail to evaluate the issue. Messages are reviewed, but FMB cannot guarantee an individual response or agree to every requested change.
FMB cannot use editorial correspondence to provide individualized tax, legal, investment, accounting, or financial advice. Do not send Social Security numbers, account credentials, tax returns, medical records, or other unnecessary sensitive information.