Editorial standards
How we write, check, update and correct what we publish.
Sources
We rely on primary sources: federal agencies such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Reserve and the Federal Trade Commission, official data, lender disclosures and published research. Articles name the source of the figures they use and link to it where we can.
How we use AI
Some articles start as a draft written with an AI writing tool (currently a model from OpenAI). The tool is given the source material and the latest official rate data, and is told to use only those figures. Its drafts are saved unpublished, with a list of claims to check.
Before anything is published, an editor reads the draft, checks each figure against its source, rewrites what is unclear or wrong, adds images and decides whether it goes live at all. Links in drafts are checked automatically, and links that don’t work or aren’t from an approved source are removed. AI tools don’t publish anything on their own.
Rate data
The numbers on our rate tracker are downloaded automatically every day from FRED, the data service of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. They are national averages from the Federal Reserve, Freddie Mac and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, shown as published, with the source and date beside each one. Some series are released monthly or quarterly, so they can be several months old.
Calculators
Our calculators use standard loan and interest formulas and run entirely in your browser. Results are estimates based on the numbers you enter; a lender’s figures can differ because of fees, rounding or how interest is charged.
Independence
We don’t currently show ads or receive payment from any company we write about. If that changes, advertisers will have no say in our coverage, and any paid relationship will be disclosed on the page where it applies.
Updates
Rates, fees and rules change. When we learn that an article is out of date, we revise it and show an “Updated” date at the top. We don’t yet review every article on a fixed schedule.
Corrections
If we get something wrong, we fix it and add a correction note at the end of the article saying what changed. To report an error, email [email protected] with the page address and what needs fixing.
Not personal advice
Our articles explain how financial products and rules work in general. They can’t account for your full situation. For decisions with legal or tax consequences, talk to a qualified professional or a nonprofit credit counselor.