AnswerWorth
Methodology Index
AnswerWorth is built around a simple idea: calculators are more useful when users can see how the answer was created. This page is the network index for methodology pages and the shared principles behind the AnswerWorth ecosystem.
Detailed methodology pages remain on each live site so users can review the context for that site’s calculators, articles, assumptions, and disclosures.
Shared Network Principles
- Calculations are educational estimates based on user inputs, visible assumptions, and documented logic.
- User-entered values are preferred when a value is local, private, quote-based, or household-specific.
- Planning defaults may be used when a user has not entered a value, but they should be visible as assumptions.
- Confidence levels describe the completeness and reliability of the entered information. They do not guarantee an outcome.
- Audit views are designed to make important results traceable through inputs, assumptions, intermediate values, and formulas or methods.
- Recommendations are educational prompts for review. The final decision always belongs to the user.
Site Methodology Pages
Use these links to review the methodology page for each live AnswerWorth network site.
- AnswerWorth — Free financial decision calculators
- My Retire Number — Free retirement readiness calculator
- Beyond Job Loss — Calculate your financial runway after a layoff
- Home Decision IQ — Think through major home and housing decisions
- Home Cost Clarity — Understand the full cost of owning and maintaining a home
- SumPilot — Plain-English calculators for everyday decisions
- Elder Care Decision — Compare care costs, options, and family tradeoffs
- College Decision Center — Compare college costs, aid, debt, and outcomes
- Divorce Financial Compass — Understand financial tradeoffs during divorce
Trust Standard
The network-level trust standard explains how AnswerWorth approaches research, assumptions, uncertainty, AI assistance, privacy, accessibility, and updates.