How HansonsBudget Makes Money
HansonsBudget is free to use. Here's the honest accounting of how that's possible, why we chose this model, and what we do so it doesn't bend the product against you.
HansonsBudget is free to use
Creating an account, connecting a bank, building a budget, running the calculators, asking the assistants, and getting your Next Money Move are all free. There's no paywall on the core product.
Affiliate and referral revenue
The way HansonsBudget keeps the lights on is by recommending financial products people are already shopping for and earning a referral fee when those recommendations turn into a signup. The partner pays HansonsBudget out of their own marketing budget — not out of your pocket. The rate you get, the terms, and the price are the same as going directly.
Partner products you might see
- High-yield savings and checking accounts
- Credit cards (rewards, travel, cash-back, balance-transfer)
- Personal-loan and student-loan refinance
- Mortgage and home-equity products
- Auto, renters, home, life, and health insurance comparison
- Tax software and CPA marketplaces
- Investing platforms and robo-advisors
- Identity protection and credit monitoring
Why this model
A free-with-affiliates model lets a personal-finance tool stay useful to people who need it most — people early in their careers, paying off debt, or saving for a first goal — without putting the best parts behind a subscription.
The alternatives we considered and chose against:
- Selling your data. Never. Your bank and transaction data is yours. See our Privacy Policy.
- Selling ads. Targeted ads on a finance product create exactly the wrong incentives.
- Pure subscription. Fine business model, but it puts the best money advice behind a paywall — and the people who most need clear money guidance are the people least likely to pay for it.
What we do to keep this fair
- Free actions and educational steps come before partner products when both are relevant. (E.g., “Call your card issuer and ask for a lower APR” lands before “Apply for a balance-transfer card.”)
- Commission rates do not drive ranking. Two products that are otherwise equivalent rank the same regardless of which pays more.
- We explain why a product appeared — your spending, your goals, your situation.
- We label sponsored content clearly. We don't accept payment to hide criticism.
- We'll pull a recommendation we no longer stand behind, even if it's profitable.
The full set of rules is in our Editorial Policy and Affiliate Disclosure.
What you should know
- HansonsBudget is educational. We don't give personalized investment, tax, or legal advice. For decisions with real stakes (retirement allocation, large investments, taxes, estate planning), talk to a fee-only fiduciary.
- A product that appears in HansonsBudget can still be a poor fit for you. Always read the fine print on the partner's page before signing up.
- If a recommendation reads like an ad — or if you think we missed a better option — email [hansongrant1@gmail.com]. We'd rather change a recommendation than defend a bad one.