Fact-Checking Policy

Trust is everything in personal finance writing. PlainMoneyTalk follows a deliberate fact-checking process so that the numbers, rules, and claims you read here are accurate at the time of publishing and stay accurate over time.

Pre-publish checklist

Before any article goes live, we verify the following:

• Numbers and statistics are traced to a primary source (government agency, regulator, official report, or major financial institution).
• Tax and contribution figures (e.g. IRA limits, 401(k) limits, standard deduction) match current IRS publications for the year referenced.
• Interest rate ranges, fees, and product terms are checked against current public information from the relevant issuers, not anecdotal claims.
• Math — every calculation, projection, or example — is recomputed from scratch by the editor.
• Quoted or paraphrased material is matched against the original source.
• External links all resolve and point to the intended page.

Source hierarchy

When we need a fact, we go to sources in this order:

1. Primary sources: government agencies, regulators, official filings, peer-reviewed research.
2. Official documentation from major banks, brokerages, credit bureaus, and card issuers.
3. Reputable financial publications with established editorial standards and visible bylines.
4. Industry research reports from organizations with disclosed methodology.

We do not treat social media posts, anonymous forum threads, or undated blog posts as primary sources.

Annual review of evergreen articles

Personal finance facts age fast. At least once a year we re-check evergreen articles for:

• Updated contribution limits, tax brackets, and standard deductions.
• Changes to federal student loan terms and forgiveness programs.
• Material shifts in average interest rates.
• New rules or products that materially affect the recommendation.

When we update an article, the "Last updated" date at the top of the post changes and we note what was revised.

Corrections

Despite our process, mistakes can still happen. When a reader reports an error or we discover one ourselves, we:

1. Verify the correction against a primary source.
2. Update the article promptly.
3. Add a brief correction note where the error materially changed the meaning of the original text.

To report a possible error, please use our contact page. We take every report seriously, even small ones.

What we don't do

• We don't publish AI-generated articles without human research, authorship, and review.
• We don't recycle press releases as "news."
• We don't quote statistics without being able to point to the source.

Questions

For anything about our verification standards, get in touch via the contact page.