Editorial Policy

HarborPlain covers “your money, your life” topics (insurance, legal, and health decisions) where being wrong has real consequences. This policy documents the standard I hold every piece to.

My process

Each guide and tool moves through four stages before it is published:

1. Research. I work from the most authoritative source available for each kind of figure (see Sourcing below) and name that source on the page, rather than leaning on anonymous blogs.
2. Draft. I write in plain language, define jargon, and make the practical next step explicit. Calculator logic is separated from the data behind it (see below).
3. Fact-check. Before publishing, I check each figure against the source cited for it, and label whether that source is an official reference or a market estimate.
4. Review. I read the full draft against its sources for accuracy and clarity before it goes live. Nothing is published automatically or unreviewed.

Sourcing standards

I sort figures into two kinds and treat them differently:

• Figures with an official source. Tax and contribution rules come from the IRS; health guidance from the CDC; wills, guardianship, and inheritance from state law; product specifications (such as diaper sizing by weight) from the manufacturer that publishes them. Here I cite the primary source directly.
• Figures with no official source. Two kinds fall here. First, prices nobody publishes officially: no government agency or regulator publishes the price of life insurance, and insurers do not release their rate tables, so I cite the specialist publisher I used (for example, an insurance marketplace’s price index). Second, conventions rather than data: rules of thumb such as the “ten times your income” coverage guideline, which come from an industry body such as the Insurance Information Institute. For both I name who publishes it, date it, and label it an estimate or rule of thumb rather than an official figure.

I avoid presenting estimates as guarantees. When a figure depends on the year (tax brackets, contribution limits, average premium rates), I label the year it applies to and review it on the schedule below.

How the calculators work

Each calculator has two layers: a stable logic layer (the formula) and a data layer (rates, limits, and rules that change over time). The data layer is reviewed on a regular cadence so a tool labeled “Updated for 2026” genuinely reflects current figures. Every tool shows its methodology, its data sources, and the date that data was last reviewed, and every tool carries a disclaimer that its output is an educational estimate: not advice and not a quote.

Authorship and expertise

HarborPlainis written and maintained by one person, Cholilur Rohman; throughout this policy, “I” means exactly that. Rather than invent extra bylines or reviewers I do not have, I show when each piece was last reviewed and updated, and I name the source behind every figure so you can check the work yourself. I am not a Certified Financial Planner, an attorney, or a clinician, so nothing here is professional advice; it is a plain-language starting point for a conversation with someone who is.

Update schedule

• Time-sensitive data (rates, tax and contribution limits, benefit rules): reviewed at least quarterly and whenever a source publishes a change.
• Evergreen guides: reviewed at least annually.
• Each page displays a “Reviewed & updated” date so you always know how current it is.

Corrections

If I get something wrong, I fix it promptly and note the correction on the page. Spotted an error? Email hello@harborplain.com or use the contact page.

Independence: advertising & affiliates

I fund the site with advertising and, over time, selected affiliate partnerships. These never influence editorial judgment: advertisers and partners do not review content before publication, do not get favorable coverage in exchange for payment, and do not shape how the calculators work. Some sources I cite for market prices, including Policygenius, LendingTree, NerdWallet, and Insure.com, sell products in these markets and could become partners later; I cite them for their published data, not any relationship, and name them on the About page. Where a page contains an affiliate link, I disclose it on that page.

Use of AI

I may use AI tools to help with research and drafting, but every piece is checked against its sources and reviewed by me before publication, and I am accountable for what goes out. I do not publish unreviewed AI-generated content.

Questions

Questions about how this works? Email hello@harborplain.com.