How we write.
The way someone who's done it would show you: what to do first, what you'll need, and what to watch out for.
The rules
- The answer comes first. Every lesson opens with a short answer.
- A source for every fact. Each lesson lists at least three sources, and each fact links to the one it came from.
- Trusted experts only. That means government agencies, established nonprofits, universities and established publishers. If we can't tie a fact to one of them, it doesn't go in.
- No made-up numbers. No invented stats, quotes, reviews or counts. Lessons that aren't written yet are marked “on the way” and aren't counted.
- Plain words. Written so a high school junior can follow it. Terms are defined where they appear.
- Checked, with a date. Every lesson shows when it was last checked against its sources. Fixes are listed on the corrections page.
- Nothing to sell. No ads, no affiliate links, no tracking, no accounts.
Videos
Videos come from the same kinds of trusted experts. Before a video goes on a lesson, we read its title, description and captions (where captions exist) and compare them with our steps. If a video conflicts with our steps or with current rules, or we can't confirm what it shows, we leave it out. Nothing loads from YouTube until you press play.
Removed on October 2, 2026: a jump-start video whose steps we couldn't confirm matched ours, a 2012 credit report video that says free reports come once a year (they're now weekly), and a 2020 W-4 video that shows the old form (the 2026 form adds Step 4(b) changes for tips and overtime).
Every source we cite
274 pages from 89 organizations.
- 911.gov
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
- AAA
- American Bar Association
- American Cleaning Institute
- American Heart Association
- American Psychological Association
- American Red Cross
- AnnualCreditReport.com
- Apple
- British Psychological Society
- CareerOneStop (U.S. Department of Labor)
- CareerOneStop, U.S. Department of Labor
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- An essential guide to building an emergency fund
- Auto loans
- Debt collection
- Does checking my credit report hurt my credit score?
- How can I avoid debit card overdrafts?
- How do I dispute a charge on my credit card bill?
- How do I dispute an error on my credit report?
- How do I get and keep a good credit score?
- How to choose the school that's financially right for you
- Payday loans
- What are the costs and fees for a payday loan?
- What do I do if I am a victim of identity theft?
- What is a Buy Now, Pay Later loan?
- What is a credit card interest rate? What does APR mean?
- What is a credit freeze?
- What is a credit report?
- What is a credit score?
- What is a grace period for a credit card?
- What is a payday loan?
- What is an overdraft?
- What should I do when a debt collector contacts me?
- What to do if a tenant screening report leads to a denial
- Your Money, Your Goals toolkit
- Your financial path to graduation
- Consumer Reports
- Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
- Digital.gov (U.S. General Services Administration)
- Federal Bureau of Investigation
- Federal Communications Commission
- Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
- Federal Trade Commission
- Auto repair basics
- Avoiding and reporting gift card scams
- Buy now, pay later, rent-to-own, and layaway
- Buyer's remorse: the FTC's Cooling-Off Rule
- Buying a used car from a dealer
- Clothes captioning: complying with the Care Labeling Rule
- Credit freezes and fraud alerts
- Debt collection FAQs
- Disputing errors on your credit reports
- Free credit reports
- How to avoid scholarship and financial aid scams
- How to protect your phone from hackers
- How to recognize and report spam text messages
- IdentityTheft.gov
- Job scams
- Lost or stolen credit, ATM and debit cards
- Making a budget (consumer.gov)
- Opening a bank account (consumer.gov)
- Phone scams
- Rental listing scams
- ReportFraud.ftc.gov
- Stalkerware: what to know
- Use two-factor authentication to protect your accounts
- What to do if you were scammed
- What to know about identity theft
- Your paycheck explained (consumer.gov)
- FoodSafety.gov
- George Mason University
- Harvard University Mignone Center for Career Success
- HealthCare.gov
- Insurance Information Institute
- Internal Revenue Service
- 401(k) limit increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA limit increases to $7,500
- About Form W-4
- Estimated taxes
- Form W-4 (2026) (PDF)
- Free tax return preparation for qualifying taxpayers
- How to know it's really the IRS calling or knocking on your door
- How to take advantage of no tax on tips and overtime
- IRS Free File: Do your federal taxes for free
- Publication 15-T (2026), Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods
- Report phishing and online scams
- Retirement topics: IRA contribution limits
- Self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare taxes)
- Tax Withholding Estimator
- Topic no. 558, Additional tax on early distributions from retirement plans
- Topic no. 751, Social Security and Medicare withholding rates
- Updated Tax Withholding Estimator reflects One, Big, Beautiful Bill changes
- Kansas Corporation Commission
- Kelley Blue Book
- Larimer County Economic and Workforce Development
- Legal Services Corporation
- love is respect
- LSU Olinde Career Center
- Mayo Clinic
- MedlinePlus
- MedlinePlus (National Library of Medicine)
- myFICO
- National Association of Insurance Commissioners
- National Cancer Institute (Smokefree Teen)
- National Credit Union Administration
- National Cybersecurity Alliance
- National Domestic Violence Hotline
- National Fire Protection Association
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- National Institute of Mental Health
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
- NIH News in Health
- North Carolina Department of Insurance
- North Carolina Department of Public Safety
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration
- Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission
- Poison Control (National Capital Poison Center)
- Purdue University Online Writing Lab
- RAINN
- Ready.gov
- Ready.gov (FEMA)
- Regional Water Providers Consortium
- Rutgers University
- Seattle Police Department
- Social Security Administration
- Stalking Prevention, Awareness, and Resource Center (SPARC)
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
- Transportation Security Administration
- Truth Initiative
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
- U.S. Courts
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service
- U.S. Department of Education (Federal Student Aid)
- Avoiding student aid scams
- College Scorecard
- Direct Subsidized and Direct Unsubsidized Loans
- FAFSA
- FAFSA application deadlines
- Federal Pell Grants
- Federal Work-Study jobs
- Federal student loan repayment plans
- Filling out the FAFSA form
- Finding and applying for scholarships
- Interest rates and fees for federal student loans
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- U.S. Department of Labor
- U.S. Department of Labor, Apprenticeship.gov
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- U.S. Fire Administration
- U.S. Fire Administration (FEMA)
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- 10 red flags that an unregistered offering may be a scam (Investor.gov)
- Compound interest calculator (Investor.gov)
- Index fund (Investor.gov)
- Introduction to investing (Investor.gov)
- Mutual funds and ETFs (Investor.gov)
- Protect your money: how to avoid investment scams (Investor.gov)
- Small savings add up to big money (Investor.gov)
- Understanding fees (Investor.gov)
- What is compound interest? (Investor.gov)
- What you can do to avoid investment fraud (Investor.gov)
- UC San Diego Academic Advising
- UNC Greensboro Communication Lab
- University of Colorado Boulder
- USA.gov
- VictimConnect Resource Center
- Vote.gov