Funding disclosures

How finbarrow makes money

Today it does not: the site carries no ads and no affiliate links, and the editor covers hosting and research costs out of pocket. Two revenue sources may be added later:

• Affiliate commissions. When a reader clicks a partner link, buys or signs up, the partner may pay us. Depending on the program, that can be a percentage of a sale (for example, a tax-software purchase), a flat fee per registration, or a flat fee per approved application or funded account. We do not earn ongoing fees from your account, and the price you pay is the same whether or not you use our link.
• Display advertising. If we ever add ads, they will be served by an ad network, labeled as advertising and kept visually separate from the articles. We would not choose the individual advertisers, and ads would not be targeted to the products an article discusses.

finbarrow does not accept payment for editorial placement. We do not publish "sponsored posts" written by an issuer or PR firm. We do not run native advertising. We do not sell backlinks. If we ever did, it would appear with prominent labeling above the fold — and that policy is binding.

Affiliate networks and direct relationships

finbarrow may establish affiliate relationships, directly or through networks such as CJ Affiliate, Impact or FlexOffers, with providers in the following categories. This page is updated, with a new date at the top, whenever a relationship starts or ends.

• Tax preparation software, on guides to specific IRS forms. The IRS Free File option is always listed alongside.
• Brokerages that sell Treasury bills and notes, on guides about Treasuries. TreasuryDirect, which charges no commission, is always listed alongside; savings bond guides carry no brokerage offers, because savings bonds are only sold by the Treasury.
• Credit card issuers.
• High-yield savings, CD, and money market account providers.
• Online brokers and self-directed retirement account custodians.
• Personal loan, mortgage, refinance, and student loan providers.
• Credit-score, credit-monitoring, and identity-protection services.

Any specific affiliate relationship is disclosed in plain English on the article that carries the link, right before the link itself. We do not rely on this site-wide page to substitute for that per-article disclosure. We never offer credit repair services.

How we keep this from corrupting the rankings

The risk with affiliate compensation is structural: a publisher whose revenue depends on referrals has an incentive to rank the higher-paying products first. finbarrow addresses this in five specific ways.

1. Math first, then ranking. Every recommendation starts from a quantitative model — payoff schedule, APY differential, total cost of ownership, effective rewards rate after categories cap. The model output drives the ranking. The affiliate payout is checked last, only to confirm the link is correct.
2. Per-article disclosure next to the link. When an article links to a product we could earn from, a labeled disclosure sits directly above that link — not buried in the footer or on this page alone.
3. Non-affiliate alternatives named. Where a top pick has no affiliate relationship with finbarrow, we say so. Where a viable alternative pays us less, we name it anyway.
4. No commissioned-by-issuer reviews. No issuer or affiliate network has, at any time, paid finbarrow to write or modify an article. We do not accept product reviews written by the issuer or their agency.
5. Public methodology. Our methodology explains exactly how rankings are produced, with the data inputs and weights. You can audit it.

Advertising disclosures

finbarrow does not display advertising at present. If that changes, ads will carry an "Advertisement" label or clear visual separation from editorial content, and we will not target them to the issuers an article discusses.

Any future ad layout is capped at two units above the fold to preserve readability. We will not deploy interstitials, pop-unders, auto-play video ads, or rich-media ads that obscure content.

Issuer terms control

Any sign-up bonus, APY, APR, fee, eligibility rule, or product feature mentioned on finbarrow is based on the issuer's marketing materials at the time of publication and is subject to change without notice from the issuer. Always verify current terms with the issuer before applying. finbarrow is not responsible for changes the issuer makes after publication.

FTC compliance

The disclosures on this page and the per-article disclosures on every affiliate-linked article are intended to comply with the United States Federal Trade Commission's "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising" (16 CFR Part 255). If anything on finbarrow looks like a material connection we have not disclosed, tell us — we want to fix it.

Questions

If you have any question about how a specific recommendation is funded, email [email protected] with [Disclosure] in the subject line. We answer.

Educational content only. finbarrow is an independent editorial publication, not a licensed financial advisor, broker, tax preparer, or attorney. Always verify rates, terms, and eligibility with the issuer or a licensed professional before acting. See disclaimers and funding disclosures for details.