About
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.
- Who we cite. Almost every source is a government agency, an established nonprofit (like Consumer Reports, AAA or the Red Cross), a university or an independent publisher. A few facts come from a company describing its own product, like Apple and Google's phone-backup steps, a toilet-part maker's installation instructions, or FICO explaining how its own score is built. Two industry groups are cited: an insurance group for insurance basics and the cleaning products trade association for laundry basics. Those sources are labeled in each lesson's source list. We don't cite retailers or carmakers, and we don't take money from anyone we cite.
- No made-up numbers. No invented stats, quotes, reviews or counts. Only published lessons are listed or counted anywhere on the site.
- 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
We want these videos to feel like someone showing you how, the way a parent would over your shoulder. The steps are always the main event; the video is a bonus. These are the rules every video follows:
- Who makes them. Government agencies, libraries, universities, hospitals, public media and nonprofits (like Khan Academy, TED-Ed, Consumer Reports, AAA and the Red Cross), plus respected creators like This Old House and Two Cents. A few come from companies, like Apple or a battery maker, and those are labeled "Company video."
- A badge on every video. Each one says what kind of source made it, like "Government," "Nonprofit," "Independent creator" or "Company video."
- Checked against our steps. Before a video goes on a lesson, we read its title, description and captions (when it has them). If it does something a little differently, we keep it and add a short "Heads up" note under it saying what we'd do instead and why.
- Safety lessons get swapped, not noted. If a video on a safety lesson does something in a riskier way, we replace it.
- No sponsor reads on mental health lessons. A lesson about how you feel shouldn't come with an ad, so those videos have no sponsor messages or course plugs.
- What we skip. Videos that are wrong, unsafe, have bad language or are mostly a sales pitch.
- Credit to the creator. Every video shows "Video by" with a link to their channel, their own title, and a link to the original on YouTube. It plays in YouTube's own player, so the views count for them.
- Privacy-friendly player, no copies. The preview panel is drawn by our site, and nothing loads from YouTube until you press play. Then it plays from youtube-nocookie.com. We never download or re-host a video or its thumbnail.
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).
Replaced on October 3, 2026: a carmaker's spare-tire video on the flat tire lesson, now an AAA video (2024). Added the same day: a fire district's fire extinguisher video (2024). Later that day we swapped the jump-start video. The one we had skipped safety glasses and gloves and took the cables off in a riskier order. That's not OK on a safety lesson, so it's now a battery maker's video that hooks up and unhooks in our order.
Replaced later on October 3, 2026: on the two mental health lessons that had sponsor messages, the therapist video is now from Mental Health America (2024) and the naming-feelings video is a talk by psychiatrist Dan Siegel (2014). The 911 video is now a practice call with real dispatchers from the City of Clive, Iowa (2025), which starts with the address, like our steps. Also swapped: the W-4 video (now a 2026 form walkthrough), the checkups video (now a general one from a hospital, replacing one about a single screening) and the scholarship video (a 2026 local news report in place of a 2011 one).
Added on October 3, 2026: videos on 52 more lessons, each checked against its captions. Older ones (from 2012 to 2017) stay only where the steps haven't changed, and each says so in its caption.
Also on October 3, 2026: we loosened our video rule. Before, we left out any video that differed from our steps at all. Now a video with a small difference stays, with a "Heads up" note that tells you what we'd do instead. That brought back a sleep video that says caffeine lasts six hours (our sources say up to eight), a raise video that says not to compare pay with coworkers (federal law protects that right for many workers) and a renting video that applies the 30% rule to pay before taxes. Each has its note. That round added 77 videos, so 149 of 149 lessons now have one.
Every source we cite
599 pages from 166 organizations.
- 911.gov
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
- AAA
- AAA Club Alliance
- AAA Oregon/Idaho
- American Academy of Ophthalmology
- American Bar Association
- American Cleaning Institute
- American Heart Association
- American Psychological Association
- American Red Cross
- AnnualCreditReport.com
- Apple
- British Psychological Society
- California Department of Real Estate
- California DMV
- CareerOneStop
- CareerOneStop (U.S. Department of Labor)
- CareerOneStop, U.S. Department of Labor
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- About intimate partner violence
- About mold and your health
- About sleep
- Adult immunization schedule by age (current under the March 16, 2026 court order)
- Carbon monoxide poisoning basics
- Food poisoning symptoms
- Get Tested: HIV, STI and viral hepatitis testing near you
- Health effects of vaping
- How to clean up after rodents
- How to seal up to prevent rodents
- How to trap up rodents
- Improving social connectedness
- Oral health tips for adults
- Quitlines
- Sleep in adults: facts and stats
- Staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccines (updated Nov. 20, 2025)
- Underage drinking
- What vaccines are recommended for you
- Where to write for vital records
- Youth and e-cigarettes
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
- Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA)
- From Coverage to Care, Step 5: Make an appointment (PDF)
- From Coverage to Care, Step 6: Be prepared for your visit (PDF)
- Health insurance terms you should know
- Know your medical bill rights
- Medical bill rights
- No Surprises Act key protections (PDF)
- Understanding costs in advance
- Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund
- Clay-Battelle Public Service District
- Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- An essential guide to building an emergency fund
- Auto loans
- Budgeting: how to create a budget and stick with it
- Can a credit card company charge me interest after I close my account?
- Can a credit card company consider my age?
- Common credit report errors
- Cosigning loans and sharing credit (teacher guide, PDF)
- Credit cards key terms
- Debt collection
- Do I pay interest on new purchases after a 0% balance transfer?
- Do medical bills affect my credit?
- Does checking my credit report hurt my credit score?
- Get help paying rent and bills
- Helpful tips for using mobile payment services
- 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 a debt collector to stop contacting me?
- How do I get and keep a good credit score?
- How does my credit card company calculate the amount of interest I owe?
- How long can a bank hold funds I deposited?
- How long does information stay on my credit report?
- How to choose the school that's financially right for you
- Is the money I keep in my payment app safe?
- Know your rights and protections when it comes to medical bills and collections
- Medical credit cards and payment plans
- Start a conversation about rent repayment
- What are some ways to start or rebuild a good credit history?
- 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 money market account?
- 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
- What to do if you're facing eviction
- Where can I get my credit scores?
- Why was I denied a checking account?
- Your Money, Your Goals toolkit
- Your financial path to graduation
- Consumer Reports
- Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
- Digital.gov (U.S. General Services Administration)
- Drug Enforcement Administration
- Electrical Safety Foundation International
- Electronic Code of Federal Regulations
- 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
- Buying from an online marketplace
- Clothes captioning: complying with the Care Labeling Rule
- Credit freezes and fraud alerts
- Debt collection FAQs
- Disputing errors on your credit reports
- Financing or leasing a car
- Free credit reports
- Got a text about unpaid tolls? It's probably a scam
- How to avoid a scam
- How to avoid scholarship and financial aid scams
- How to get generic drugs and low-cost prescriptions
- How to protect your phone from hackers
- How to recognize and avoid phishing scams
- How to recognize and report spam text messages
- How to recover your hacked email or social media account
- How to spot, avoid and report fake check scams
- IdentityTheft.gov
- Job scams
- Lost or stolen credit, ATM and debit cards
- Making a budget (consumer.gov)
- Mobile payment apps: how to avoid a scam when you use one
- Opening a bank account (consumer.gov)
- Phone scams
- Refund and recovery scams
- Rental listing scams
- ReportFraud.ftc.gov
- Scammers hide harmful links in QR codes to steal your information
- Selling stuff online? Here's how to avoid a scam
- Stalkerware: what to know
- The Google Voice scam: how this verification code scam works
- Use two-factor authentication to protect your accounts
- Using credit cards and disputing charges
- What to do if you were scammed
- What to know about identity theft
- What to know about payday and car title loans
- Your paycheck explained (consumer.gov)
- Feeding America
- Fluidmaster
- FoodSafety.gov
- FuelEconomy.gov (U.S. DOE and EPA)
- George Mason University
- George Washington University Off-Campus Housing
- George Washington University Off-Campus Student Affairs
- Greater Good Science Center, UC Berkeley
- Harvard Business Review
- Harvard University Mignone Center for Career Success
- Health Resources and Services Administration
- HealthCare.gov
- Birth control benefits
- Catastrophic health plan
- Coinsurance
- Dates and deadlines
- Deductible
- Dental coverage in the Marketplace
- External review
- Flexible Spending Accounts
- Formulary
- Getting covered if you're under 30
- Getting medical care
- Health Savings Account
- Health plan categories
- How to find low-cost health care in your community
- How to get or stay on a parent's plan
- If you have job-based insurance
- Internal appeals
- Medicaid and CHIP coverage
- Mental health and substance abuse coverage
- Out-of-pocket maximum/limit
- Premium
- Preventive care benefits for adults
- Preventive care benefits for women
- Saving money on health insurance
- Special Enrollment Period
- Summary of Benefits and Coverage
- Idaho Public Utilities Commission
- Insurance Information Institute
- Internal Revenue Service
- 401(k) limit increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA limit increases to $7,500
- About Form 8919
- About Form SS-8
- About Form W-4
- Address changes
- Check if you need to file a tax return
- Estimated tax FAQs
- Estimated taxes
- Financial assistance policies (FAPs)
- Form W-4 (2026) (PDF)
- Free tax return preparation for qualifying taxpayers
- Gather your documents
- Get an identity protection PIN
- 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
- Independent contractor (self-employed) or employee?
- Manage taxes for your gig work
- Payment plans and installment agreements
- Publication 15-T (2026), Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods
- Publication 531, Reporting tip income
- Refunds
- Report phishing and online scams
- Retirement Savings Contributions Credit (Saver's Credit)
- Retirement topics: IRA contribution limits
- Retirement topics: tax on early distributions
- Roth comparison chart
- Self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare taxes)
- Tax Withholding Estimator
- Topic 761, Tips: withholding and reporting
- Topic no. 421, Scholarships, fellowship grants and other grants
- Topic no. 751, Social Security and Medicare withholding rates
- Understanding your Form 1099-K
- Updated Tax Withholding Estimator reflects One, Big, Beautiful Bill changes
- When to file
- Your online account
- Iowa State University Extension
- Iowa State University Extension and Outreach
- Johns Hopkins Medicine, Armstrong Institute
- Judicial Branch of California
- Kansas Corporation Commission
- Kansas State University Counseling Services
- KFF Health News
- Larimer County Economic and Workforce Development
- Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
- Legal Services Corporation
- love is respect
- LSU Olinde Career Center
- Mayo Clinic
- McGill University
- MedlinePlus
- MedlinePlus (National Library of Medicine)
- Michigan Department of Attorney General
- Military OneSource
- Minnesota Attorney General
- Minnesota Judicial Branch
- Missouri Public Service Commission
- myFICO
- National Association of Insurance Commissioners
- National Cancer Institute (Smokefree Teen)
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
- National Center for Home Food Preservation
- National Center for State Courts
- 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 of Standards and Technology
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
- National Institutes of Health
- National Labor Relations Board
- New York Attorney General
- New York State Attorney General
- New York State Unified Court System
- NIH News in Health
- North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
- North Carolina Department of Insurance
- North Carolina Department of Public Safety
- NYC Housing Preservation and Development
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration
- Ohio State University
- Ohio State University Student Legal Services
- Oklahoma Department of Public Safety
- Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries
- Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission
- Poison Control (National Capital Poison Center)
- Purdue University Online Writing Lab
- RAINN
- Campus sexual violence: prevention and response
- Consent 101
- Getting a sexual assault forensic exam (SAFE)
- Getting medical help after sexual assault
- How to talk with survivors of sexual violence
- If someone is pressuring or coercing you
- National Sexual Assault Hotline
- Reporting sexual assault to law enforcement
- Step in with CARE
- Ready.gov
- Ready.gov (FEMA)
- Regional Water Providers Consortium
- Rutgers University
- SAMHSA
- Santa Clara University Office of the Ombuds
- Seattle Police Department
- Social Security Administration
- St. Norbert College
- Stalking Prevention, Awareness, and Resource Center (SPARC)
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
- Texas Attorney General
- Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers' Compensation
- Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation
- Texas Department of Motor Vehicles
- Transportation Security Administration
- Truth Initiative
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
- U.S. Courts
- U.S. Department of Agriculture
- 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 Health and Human Services, Office of Population Affairs
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- U.S. Department of Labor
- Become an apprentice
- Breaks and meal periods
- Changing jobs and job loss
- Continuation of health coverage (COBRA)
- Fact Sheet #15: Tipped employees under the FLSA
- Fact Sheet #22: Hours worked under the FLSA
- Fair Labor Standards Act
- Family and Medical Leave Act
- Filing a complaint
- Last paycheck
- Minimum wage
- Minimum wages for tipped employees, by state
- Overtime pay
- Sick leave
- State minimum wage laws
- TEAMS Interview Skills participant guide (PDF, Feb. 2026)
- Termination
- Unemployment insurance
- Vacation leave
- What you should know about your retirement plan
- Young workers
- U.S. Department of Labor, Apprenticeship.gov
- U.S. Department of Labor, Job Corps
- U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division
- U.S. Department of Labor, YouthRules!
- 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. Postal Inspection Service
- U.S. Postal Service
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- 10 red flags that an unregistered offering may be a scam (Investor.gov)
- Asset allocation and diversification (Investor.gov)
- Compound interest calculator (Investor.gov)
- Exchange-traded funds (Investor.gov)
- Expense ratio (Investor.gov)
- Index fund (Investor.gov)
- Introduction to investing (Investor.gov)
- Mutual funds (Investor.gov)
- Ponzi scheme (Investor.gov)
- Protect your money: how to avoid investment scams (Investor.gov)
- Pyramid schemes (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 Berkeley Student Learning Center
- UC San Diego Academic Advising
- UCLA Newsroom
- UCSF Office of the Ombuds
- UMass Amherst Center for Counseling and Psychological Health
- UNC Greensboro Communication Lab
- UNC Learning Center
- University of Calgary Student Conduct Office
- University of Colorado Boulder
- University of Maryland Counseling Center
- University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
- University of Minnesota Extension
- University of Washington Counseling Center
- USA.gov
- Absentee voting and voting by mail
- How to apply for an adult passport
- How to confirm your voter registration status
- How to get a certified copy of a birth certificate
- How to place or lift a security freeze
- How to register to vote
- How to replace lost or stolen ID cards
- How to update or change your voter registration
- Identity theft
- Legal aid
- Tenant rights
- Voter ID requirements
- Voter registration deadlines
- Who can and cannot vote
- USAGov
- VictimConnect Resource Center
- Vote.gov
- Washington State Attorney General
- Zelle