Data Sources

Last updated: August 2026

Our calculators rely on publicly available, authoritative sources. We do not fabricate government, financial, or industry data.

Primary Sources

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)

consumerfinance.gov — Mortgage guides, DTI definitions, prepayment penalty information, and consumer financial education resources.

Federal Reserve

federalreserve.gov — National interest rate data, consumer credit statistics, and monetary policy information. Credit card APR context is informed by Federal Reserve consumer credit data.

Freddie Mac (Primary Mortgage Market Survey)

freddiemac.com/pmms — Weekly survey of U.S. mortgage rates. We recommend checking current PMMS data for the latest rate environment. Our calculators use illustrative rates, not live data.

U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)

dol.gov — Overtime pay regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), wage and hour guidance, and employment statistics.

How We Use Sources

• Formulas are sourced from standard financial textbooks and government-published methodologies.
• Thresholds (DTI ratios, PMI estimates) reflect current industry conventions and regulatory guidance.
• Interest rates used in default examples are illustrative, not live market data.
• Where government data supports a calculation, we link to the specific page, not just the agency homepage.

What We Do NOT Use

• We do not fabricate data or make up statistics.
• We do not use expired or obsolete rate data without labeling it.
• We do not present estimates as guarantees.

For methodology details, see our Financial Calculator Methodology page. For corrections, contact us.