Why You Should Trust Us
Our reviews are always impartial. No one can influence which products we review, the way we present them to you, or the ratings they receive. The data we collect and our editorial expertise determine the list of products you see in our roundups and the reviews you read—that’s it. When we review a product—whether that’s a bank account, a loan company, or a mobile app—you’re the first thing on our minds: Does this product make your life better? How much will it cost you? Is it easy to understand? The answers to these questions drive our recommendations. Our opinions are our own. What we say about a particular product is not reviewed or approved by any partner we work with. To put it simply, we recommend products we would use ourselves.
Advertiser Disclosure
We do receive compensation from partner links in our content, but this compensation never affects our recommendations, the products we review, or where products appear in our reviews. Keep in mind we are unable to consider every possible product available to you. While we work hard to review a thorough sampling of products on the market and make recommendations regardless of any advertising relationships, we’re human, and we can’t cover everything. We receive compensation for the following products or from the following partners:
Our Mission
It’s simple: We’re here to help you make smart financial decisions. There are so many options to consider when opening a savings account or electing an insurance policy, and we want you to feel confident when you make those choices. Yasmin has also had an extensive international career covering business, technology, and the environment for broadcast and print outlets, including CNN, CNBC, and Asiaweek magazine. She has a Master of International Affairs degree from Columbia University. Meredith enjoys unravelling complex topics and conveying them in meaningful ways for readers. She holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from New College of Florida. Lars earned Bachelor of Arts and Master of Fine Arts degrees in English, both from California State University, Long Beach. Marisa kickstarted her compliance career at CreditCards.com after moving over from the oil and gas contract management industry. While at CreditCards.com, she used her expertise to bring its network of over 100 financial bloggers into compliance by keeping a pulse on the quickly changing industry regulations, attending industry-specific training programs and unifying each blogger’s editorial goals with compliance requirements. She also helped oversee the Chase, Wells Fargo, and internal affiliate programs monitoring their network of hundreds of publishers. Prior to joining the The Balance team, Hannah served as a lead researcher for Fortune 500 companies and multinational biotech companies including Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Takeda, where she studied user behaviors using eye-tracking, spatial tracking, and force sensors. Her experience leading rigorous studies for FDA reviews shaped her standard of research integrity which guides her work at The Balance. In her spare time, she enjoys playing the keyboard and reading nonfiction.
Our Process
We’re obsessed with staying on top of the latest developments in the personal finance world and keeping you up to speed on them, too. When we’re deciding what to review or rounding up the best offers out there, we rigorously research the market, what people are looking for, and what makes an outstanding product. We spend days—sometimes months—collecting all this information. Then, using that data and our expertise, we set clear, consistent evaluation criteria for each product we review. But once we publish an article, we don’t forget about it. Our team is relentless when it comes to keeping our recommendations fresh, accurate, and helpful. Even so, we encourage you to carefully read the fine print before buying or applying for any product. Yes, making the right financial decision often takes hours of diligent research. But we love doing it, which means you don’t have to.
