About Common Cents
Common Cents is a free website with short lessons and simple calculators to help people manage money. It's for anyone who wants plain answers, especially people who don't have a financial advisor.
Our promises
- Free, forever. Nothing to buy, and no premium version.
- No ads and no affiliate links. Nobody pays us to send you anywhere.
- No accounts. Anything you type into a calculator stays on your device. We don't collect your numbers or personal information. To see how many people the site helps, we count page visits with Cloudflare Web Analytics. It doesn't use cookies, doesn't follow you to other sites, and can't see what you type.
- Plain language. Every money word is explained the first time it shows up.
Use it with no internet
After your first visit, the whole site is saved on your device. Lessons and calculators keep working with no signal and without using data.
To keep it like an app, open your browser's menu and choose "Add to Home screen" or "Install."
Who made this
Common Cents is a student-built public-service project.
How we keep it accurate
Numbers that change over time, like legal limits and tax amounts, are kept in one place with a link to the official source and the date we last checked them. We never make them up.
Every calculator's math is tested against known examples before it goes on the site.
Figures used on this site
Credit union payday alternative loans: highest APR allowed: 28%
mycreditunion.gov · Checked October 14, 2026.
Credit union payday alternative loans: highest application fee: $20
mycreditunion.gov · Checked October 14, 2026.
FDIC deposit insurance: standard maximum per person, per bank, per ownership category: $250,000
fdic.gov · Checked October 7, 2026.
NCUA share insurance: standard maximum per person, per credit union, per ownership category: $250,000
mycreditunion.gov · Checked October 7, 2026.
Bank On certified accounts: highest opening deposit: $25
joinbankon.org · Checked October 8, 2026.
Bank On certified accounts: highest monthly fee that can't be waived: $5
joinbankon.org · Checked October 8, 2026.
IRA contribution limit for 2026: $7,500
accountingtoday.com · Checked October 8, 2026.
Extra IRA contribution allowed at age 50 and older, 2026: $1,100
accountingtoday.com · Checked October 8, 2026.
FICO Score: how much payment history, amounts owed, length of credit history, new credit, and credit mix count: 35% / 30% / 15% / 10% / 10%
myfico.com · Checked October 14, 2026.
Most of your credit card limits experts advise using: 30%
consumerfinance.gov · Checked October 14, 2026.
Earned Income Tax Credit, 2025: largest credit (3 or more children): $8,046
irs.gov · Checked October 8, 2026.
Child Tax Credit, 2025: per child: $2,200
irs.gov · Checked October 8, 2026.
IRS Free File guided software: income limit (2026 filing season): $89,000
irs.gov · Checked October 8, 2026.
Self-employment tax rate: 15.3%
irs.gov · Checked October 8, 2026.
Education, not advice
This site is for education only and isn't personal financial, tax, or legal advice. We're not financial advisors.
For help with your own situation, talk with a free, trusted helper. Find free help near you.
Accessibility
We want this site to work for everyone, including people who use screen readers, keyboards, or older phones. We aim to meet the WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility guidelines.