Author

Plain Money Guide is written and edited by one person. "Plain Money Guide" is both the name of this site and the name I publish under, and everything here is my responsibility. I have been writing these guides since July 2026.

What I am not

I am not a CPA, attorney, insurance agent, or licensed financial advisor. Nothing here is professional advice. What I do is narrower and, I hope, useful: I read what the agencies and companies actually publish, pull the pieces together in one place, and show where the rules split.

That also tells you where this site is worth your time and where it is not. It is worth reading when the rules are scattered — when the fee, the deadline or the requirement depends on your bank, your state, your carrier or your plan, and nobody has put them side by side. If a single official page already answers your question completely, go read that page instead. I will link it.

How these articles are written

• Numbers get stated, with the date I checked them. If a fee is $35, the article says $35 and says when that was verified. Rules and prices change; a dated figure lets you judge how stale it might be. Writing "fees may apply" would protect me and help you not at all.
• If I cannot confirm a number, I leave it out rather than blur it. No "a certain amount", no "varies by provider, check with yours" as the whole answer. Where something genuinely differs, I say what it differs along and give you the range or the rule that decides it.
• Sources are linked inline — CFPB, IRS, SSA, FTC, state agencies, or the company's own policy page. Where two sources disagree, I say so rather than picking one silently.
• No invented experience. I do not write "when I filed my claim" about things I have not done. Research is presented as research.

When I get something wrong

I check before publishing and I still get things wrong, and rules change after publication. If you find an error or something out of date, tell me through the contact form and I will verify it, correct the article, and update the "checked" date. Where a correction changes the substance, I note what changed rather than editing silently. If your correction turns out to differ from what I find, I will reply with the source I relied on — I will not quietly delete it or quietly leave it.

Contact

Use the contact form linked in the site footer for corrections, questions, or press and partnership enquiries.