Disclaimer

General information, not advice

Everything published on The Wallet Wisdom is general educational information about money, written for a wide US audience. It is not financial, investment, tax, legal, insurance, accounting, or medical advice, and it is not tailored to you.

We do not know your income, your debts, your credit file, your state's rules, your marital status, your visa status, or which of the six things that are going wrong this month is the one that actually matters. An article cannot know that. A professional who asks you questions can.

No advisory or fiduciary relationship

Reading this site, emailing us, or using one of our calculators does not create an advisory, fiduciary, attorney-client, accountant-client, or agency relationship. We are not registered investment advisers, broker-dealers, insurance producers, tax preparers, credit counselors, attorneys, or mortgage brokers, and we do not hold ourselves out as any of those. Nobody here is acting on your behalf or owes you a duty of loyalty in a transaction.

We also do not accept payment to recommend a product, and we do not take referral fees from financial-service providers. See the advertising disclosure below for how the site actually earns money.

What our numbers mean

When an article says a repair "runs $400 to $900" or that a program pays "up to" some amount, that is a range assembled from public data — federal and state agency publications, published price lists, industry cost surveys, and program rules — restated in our own words. It is not a quote, an estimate for your job, or a promise about what you will be charged or paid.

Three specific limits worth being blunt about:

• Prices vary by region, by provider, and by how complicated your situation turns out to be. A number that is typical nationally can be badly wrong in your zip code.
• Rates, contribution limits, tax brackets, benefit amounts, and eligibility rules change — sometimes mid-year, and sometimes retroactively. Where a figure is tied to a year, we say which year. Check the official source we link to before you rely on it.
• Program rules are administered by state and county offices that interpret them differently. The agency that runs the program is the authority on whether you qualify. We are not.

We correct errors. If a figure on this site is wrong or has gone stale, tell us at editorial@thewalletwisdom.com and we will fix it and note the change. Our editorial guidelines explain how corrections are logged.

What the calculators can and cannot tell you

Our calculators do arithmetic on the numbers you give them, using assumptions printed on each page. They are useful for comparing options and for finding out whether something is even in the right range. They are not underwriting.

A calculator here cannot tell you whether you will be approved, what rate you will be offered, what a benefits office will decide, or what you will owe the IRS. Those depend on rules and data the calculator does not have. Treat the output as a first estimate you take into a conversation with a lender, an agency, or a tax professional — not as the answer.

The calculators run entirely in your browser and the figures you enter are never sent to us or anyone else. That is a privacy commitment, and it is described in the privacy policy.

No guaranteed outcomes

Nothing on this site is a guarantee. Not of approval, not of a discount, not of eligibility, not of a savings figure, not of an investment return. Our negotiation scripts work often enough to be worth ten minutes of your time; they also fail, and we say so in the articles where they fail most. If you follow a guide here and the answer is no, that is a normal outcome, not a sign you did it wrong.

We do not promise, and cannot promise, that anyone reading this site will save money, qualify for a program, settle a debt, or improve a credit score.

Links to other sites and organizations

We link out to agencies, regulators, nonprofits, and companies constantly, because a primary source beats our paraphrase. We do not control those sites. Their content, accuracy, availability, pricing, and privacy practices are theirs, and they can change without us noticing. A link is a pointer to where the rule is written down, not an endorsement of the organization, and it does not mean we have any relationship with them.

Program names, agency names, form numbers, and company names appear here because we are writing about them. That is not a claim of affiliation, sponsorship, or approval by anyone we mention.

Advertising and affiliate disclosure

The Wallet Wisdom is free to read and is paid for by display advertising served through Google AdSense. Ad units carry a visible "Advertisement" label. We do not select the individual advertisers who appear, we do not vet their offers, and an ad next to an article is not a recommendation.

We currently run no affiliate links, no referral arrangements with lenders or financial-service providers, and no sponsored posts. If that ever changes, the link or the page will be labelled where you can see it, and the advertising disclosure will be updated before the first such link goes live. Advertising has never bought editorial input here, and we do not sell coverage.

When to talk to a professional — and how to do it free

For anything with a deadline, a lawsuit, a lien, a tax year, or a retirement account attached, get a person who can look at your paperwork. Our articles say so where it matters. Paying a professional is often the cheap option; here it is free.

These are genuinely free or low-cost, and none of them is a lead generator. We have no relationship with any of them.

• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — Free. Submit a complaint about a bank, lender, debt collector, credit bureau, or mortgage servicer and the company has to respond, usually within 15 days. Phone (855) 411-2372.
• HUD-approved housing counseling — Free or low-cost counseling on rent, mortgages, foreclosure, and homelessness prevention from agencies approved by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD also lists them at hud.gov.
• IRS VITA and TCE — Free tax return preparation by IRS-certified volunteers, generally for people earning under the VITA income limit, people with disabilities, limited-English speakers, and taxpayers over 60. Locator line 800-906-9887; AARP Tax-Aide 888-227-7669.
• NFCC member credit counseling — Nonprofit credit counseling agencies. A first budget review is typically free. Phone 800-388-2227. Be wary of anyone who calls you first, charges a large fee up front, or promises to erase your debt.
• Legal Services Corporation — Finds the civil legal aid office for your area. Free help for people under income limits with eviction, debt collection lawsuits, benefits denials, and family law.
• 211 — Dial 211 or search the site for local help with utilities, rent, food, and medical bills. Run by United Way and local partners; the referrals are to programs that actually operate in your county.

One warning that belongs on this page: any organization that phones you first about debt relief, charges a large fee before doing anything, or promises to make a debt disappear is not the kind of help listed above. The Bureau's complaint line is a reasonable place to report them.

Who publishes this

Editorial questions and corrections: editorial@thewalletwisdom.com. Anything else: hello@thewalletwisdom.com. This disclaimer sits alongside our terms of use and privacy policy.