Money, Drawn Out

How We Check the Numbers

Last updated: 2026-10-17

Money, Drawn Out exists to explain money honestly. A lesson is only useful if you can trust its numbers, so this page explains exactly how we produce them, and how you can check them yourself.

1. Every number comes from a source or a calculation

Each figure in a lesson is one of two things:

  • A fact with a source, such as the average credit card APR, a savings rate, a tax limit or a survey result. We cite it at the end of the lesson, with the publisher and the date.
  • A calculation, such as what $100 a month becomes in 40 years. We list every assumption behind it (the rate, the time period, how often interest compounds, whether fees or taxes are included) so you can reproduce it.

If we can't source a fact or show how a number was calculated, it doesn't go in the lesson.

2. We prefer primary sources

Whenever possible we go to the original publisher instead of a news article about it. Sources we rely on include:

  • Rates and lending: the Federal Reserve (G.19 consumer credit, FRED data), the FDIC, Freddie Mac's mortgage survey and Edmunds for auto loans
  • Taxes and retirement accounts: the IRS (contribution limits, tax brackets, publications) and the Social Security Administration
  • Household data: the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Federal Reserve's household surveys
  • Credit: FICO and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
  • Research: peer-reviewed papers and well-known datasets (for example S&P Dow Jones Indices' SPIVA reports and NYU Stern's historical return data)

When we use a commercial survey (for example from Bankrate or CNBC), we name it and treat it as an estimate.

3. How we calculate

  • Same method everywhere. Investment examples compound monthly, with contributions at the end of each month, unless a lesson says otherwise. Credit card examples use a common minimum payment formula (interest plus 1% of the balance, $25 floor). Our calculators use exactly the same math, so the numbers on the site and in the videos match.
  • Honest assumptions. For long-term stock market examples we usually plan with 7% a year, roughly the long-run US average after inflation, rather than the most optimistic number we could find. When a result depends heavily on an assumption, we show what happens if it changes (for example a 5%, 7% and 10% market).
  • Like with like. We don't compare a loan rate that includes inflation with an investment return that excludes it.
  • Rounding. Results are calculated precisely, then rounded for readability ("about $262,000"). Tables keep enough detail to check the math.
  • Characters are illustrations. Sam and Alex are not real people, and their numbers are examples, not predictions.

4. Review and updates

Before a lesson is published, its script and its numbers are checked against the sources and recalculated from the stated assumptions.

Money rules change. Contribution limits and tax brackets change every year, and interest rates change all the time. Every lesson shows the date it was last updated, and we review time-sensitive figures when new official numbers come out (for example the IRS limits announced each autumn).

5. How we use AI

We use AI tools to help with parts of production: drafting and editing text, generating the narrator's voice in our videos (it's a synthetic voice, disclosed on YouTube), and double-checking calculations. AI output is never published unchecked: facts are verified against the sources listed in each lesson, and calculations are rerun from their assumptions.

6. Independence

  • We don't recommend specific stocks, funds, cards, banks, lenders or car models, and no company pays to be mentioned in a lesson.
  • The site may show advertising. Ads are chosen by the ad network, not by us, are kept visually separate from lessons, and never influence what we write.
  • If we ever publish sponsored content or use affiliate links, we will label them clearly on the page.

7. Corrections

We make mistakes, and we want to know about them. If you spot a wrong number, an outdated rate or a broken source, email hello@moneydrawnout.com with the lesson and the figure. We check every report. When we fix a meaningful error, we update the lesson and its "updated" date, and correct the video description or pinned comment on YouTube if it's affected.

8. What our lessons are, and aren't

Our lessons are general education, not personal financial, tax, investment or legal advice. They can't account for your situation. For decisions about your own money, consider a qualified, licensed professional. See our full disclaimer.