How the work is made
Standards
What is computed, what is invented, what we will not do, and what happens when we get something wrong.
Why this page exists
FinCase is published without a byline. You are not being asked to trust a person, a credential or a photograph — which means the method, the math and the mistakes all have to be on the page instead.
That is a harder standard than a byline, not an easier one. A name can be asserted. Everything below can be checked.
01 · The math
Every figure published by FinCase is computed by a tested calculation engine. No number in any file was produced by a language model, estimated, or rounded to make a point land better.
The engine carries a version, and that version is printed in the jacket at the top of every file. Each released version is frozen and kept indefinitely, along with its test results, so the question “what produced this number” has an answer years from now rather than a shrug.
A published file stays frozen at the engine that computed it. When we release a new engine we do not silently restate old cases, because a silent restatement is indistinguishable from covering something up.
02 · The people
Every subject is invented. The names, jobs, cities and circumstances are composites, assembled to be typical of a situation rather than to describe anyone.
The lives are fiction. The math run on them is not. The income, the balances and the rates are internally consistent inputs, and everything derived from them is computed exactly as it would be for a real household.
We do not analyse real people’s finances, and no file has ever been based on a reader’s own numbers.
03 · The judgment
The numbers inform the decision. They do not make it.
A case looks for high-leverage changes, exposes competing priorities and considers more than one reasonable perspective. Where reasonable people could choose differently, the file says so rather than manufacturing a single right answer.
The goal is not to discover a universal financial rule. It is to understand what a particular choice accomplishes, what it costs, and why someone might reasonably choose it.
04 · The limits
All case studies published by FinCase are intended for educational and illustrative purposes only. Unless otherwise noted, the individuals, financial situations and details described are fictional and do not represent any real person. They are designed to help readers explore financial concepts in a relatable context; they are not intended to provide financial, tax, legal or investment advice.
FinCase is not a registered investment advisor, broker-dealer, CPA, or law firm. The content on this site should not be construed as professional advice or relied upon for decision-making.
Always consult with a qualified financial advisor, tax professional or legal advisor before making decisions based on the content provided here.
Your circumstances, tax position, risk tolerance and goals will differ from any case published here. If a file ever reads as though it is telling you what to do, that is a defect in our writing and we would like to know about it.
05 · Corrections
We expect to be wrong sometimes. The math is checked by machine, but the inputs, the framing and the writing are not.
When we find an error in a published figure:
- We fix it in place, in the file, rather than quietly deleting the file
- The file is reopened — its status stamp changes, visibly
- We record the date, the figure as published, the figure as corrected, and the engine version on each side
To date, no corrections have been issued, because no engine-computed file has yet been found wrong. A corrections index opens here the first time one is — and if you ever find this page still claiming zero while a file has visibly changed, that is the failure you should judge us on.
06 · What we will not do
- Let a commercial relationship decide a finding
- Publish a figure that a language model produced
- Analyse a real person’s finances, or publish a file based on a reader’s own numbers
- Give tax advice specific enough that someone could rely on it
- Present a generated or stock image as a photograph of a case subject
- Change a published figure without saying so
The method these standards apply to is set out in full on the Method.