Editorial policy: how Normdale sources, checks and corrects every number
You can check every number on Normdale yourself: each one is calculated with a published method or taken from a named source, with the year. This page explains how we pick sources, test the math, keep numbers current, fix mistakes and use AI.
Key points
- Every number has a source or a method. It's either calculated with the method on How we calculate or taken from a named source, with the year.
- Examples are labeled. When a number is an example and not a fact about you, the page says "example" and lists its assumptions.
- The calculator is tested. The Payoff Calculator has to pass worked examples with known answers before it goes live and after every change.
- Mistakes are fixed in the open. Email hello@normdale.com. We fix the page and add a dated correction note at the bottom. Numbers aren't changed quietly.
- AI is never the source of a number. AI tools help make the videos and help draft pages, code and email replies. Diego Franco reviews everything before it's published.
- No money from lenders. Normdale takes no money from card issuers, lenders or debt-relief companies. At launch there are no ads and no affiliate links.
Who decides what Normdale publishes
Diego Franco, founder and editor, decides what Normdale covers and reviews every page and every video before it goes out. Diego has no financial training, which is why the method and the sources are always shown: you shouldn't have to take Diego's word for a number.
No financial expert has reviewed Normdale's pages yet. A qualified reviewer (for example a CFP® professional or a CPA) may be added later. Each reviewed page will then show the reviewer's name and credential. Until then, no page claims an expert review.
Where our numbers come from
- Original sources first. We use the organization that publishes a number whenever we can: for example the Federal Reserve for average credit card interest rates, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Regulation Z for credit card rules. We use a news article or another website only when the original isn't available, and we say so.
- Name and year, every time. Every rate, rule or statistic names its source and its date. Preliminary figures are labeled preliminary.
- A survey is a survey. A number from one survey is described as "in one survey", with the publisher and the year, never as a fact about everyone.
- No unsourced "most people". We don't write "most people", "everyone" or "nobody" unless a named source says so.
- Listening is not a source. To learn which money questions people ask, we read public discussions, such as Reddit threads and YouTube comments. We paraphrase what we learn, never publish usernames, and never use them as the source of a number.
How the calculations are checked
- One published method. Every calculated number follows the method on How we calculate, with a worked example you can redo by hand.
- Tested before it goes live. The Payoff Calculator has to pass a set of worked examples with known answers before it goes live and after every change. A second, separate program recomputes the same cases, and both must agree. One of the tests: $215 at 0% APR, paying $50 a month, takes 5 months, not 4, because the last, smaller payment of $15 is counted.
- Exact behind the rounded. We keep full precision while calculating and round only when we show a number. When a video or a headline rounds a figure, How we calculate shows the exact one.
- Assumptions next to the number. Each tool and example lists what it assumes (for example: interest calculated monthly, no new purchases, an example minimum-payment rule), so a reader can see why their own numbers may differ.
How we keep numbers current
Some numbers change, like the Federal Reserve's average credit card rate. We re-check them when the source publishes new data, and on the day we publish any video that uses them.
Tool pages show the date their numbers were last checked. When a source publishes new data, we update the number and that date. A routine update like this isn't a correction. If an update changes a page's main result, we add a dated note at the bottom of the page saying what changed.
How to report a mistake, and how we correct it
Found a number that looks wrong? Tell us, and the page gets fixed in the open:
- Email hello@normdale.com with the page (or video) and the number that looks wrong. Corrections are welcome.
- We check every report and reply within 5 working days.
- If we got it wrong, we fix the page and add a dated correction note at the bottom saying what changed. We don't change numbers quietly.
- For a video, we correct the description and the pinned comment, and fix the matching page on normdale.com. The published video file itself can't be edited.
What a correction note looks like (example)
Correction, [date]: An earlier version of this page gave the wrong total interest for the $150-a-month example. We fixed the number and the table. Thanks to the reader who emailed us.
A correction note doesn't name the person who reported the mistake unless they ask us to.
How Normdale uses AI
- Videos. The visuals, sounds and music in the videos are made with AI tools. The narrator is a synthetic voice based on Diego's own voice. Every video is marked as altered or synthetic content on YouTube.
- Writing and code. AI assistants help research, draft pages and write the calculator code. Diego reviews and edits everything before it's published.
- Replies to your emails. An AI assistant may help draft replies to reader emails; we remove the reader's name and email address from what we paste (privacy policy).
- Numbers. AI is never the source of a number. Each number is calculated with the method on How we calculate and tested against worked examples, or taken from a named source, with the year.
- No fake people. Normdale doesn't use AI-made "experts", reviews or testimonials. Normdale is a cartoon and is always presented as one.
Independence and how Normdale makes money
- Free tools stay free. The tools work without a sign-up or a purchase, and a tool's answer is never hidden behind an email.
- Our own products, labeled. Normdale plans to sell its own products, starting with Normdale's Debt Payoff Planner (a spreadsheet, not on sale yet). When a page mentions one, that's us talking about our own product.
- No money from lenders. Normdale takes no money from card issuers, lenders or debt-relief companies, and doesn't promote credit cards, loans or debt-relief services.
- No ads or affiliate links at launch. If ads or affiliate links are ever added, each page that carries them will say so clearly, next to the link itself, not only on this page.
- No promised results. We show what the math says. We don't promise payoff dates, savings or income.
How we talk about money
On Normdale, the joke is on the math, not on the person. Normdale is a regular guy who buys what regular people buy throughout life, and he never gets mocked for it. Money choices have reasons behind them. We make the numbers clear and leave the decisions to you.
Questions or a correction
Write to hello@normdale.com. Related pages: How we calculate · About Normdale · Disclaimer · Privacy policy.