About
Method
Who should skip this. Readers who only need a situation path today. Use Start here instead.
What FourHundred is
FourHundred is a U.S. money information tool for people already under financial pressure.
The name comes from a question the Federal Reserve has asked U.S. adults for years: if an unexpected $400 expense arrived, how would you pay it? That question is not a complete picture of anyone’s life. It is a public benchmark for a thin cash buffer. We use it as a starting point, not as a verdict.
FourHundred shows information people under pressure most need to see. It is organized in three layers:
- Foundations — core knowledge that changes slowly
- Playbook — current methods, with limits written on the page
- Evidence — numbers from primary sources, with the definition next to the figure
We also keep a screened list of AI-related knowledge and tools. AI is not the product, and it is not an adviser.
Who it is for
Adults in the United States who are already strained. That includes people who may miss a bill this month, whose card balance is growing, who do not have a cash buffer, who received a bill they cannot pay, who earn a solid income and still run out, or who are late or in collections.
It is not built first for people shopping for investments, crypto, or a “financial freedom” plan.
What a page is supposed to do
Every page has one job: help you see the next useful thing, not everything about money.
A Foundation page gives shared language and one small action. A Playbook page gives one method, who it is for, and who should skip it. An Evidence card gives a number, the exact definition, and what the number does not prove.
If a page cannot name its job in one sentence, it is not ready to publish.
How we choose what to publish
A page ships only if it meets all of these:
- It is useful to someone already under pressure, not only to someone optimizing spare cash.
- It can be explained with a dollar example.
- It does not require us to know your full income, tax return, or risk tolerance.
- It has a named limit: who should not use it.
- Claims that sound like facts point to a primary source, or they are labeled as examples.
- It does not recommend a specific bank, card, loan, investment, or filing.
We prefer official U.S. sources and established research over viral summaries. When two surveys use different questions, we keep the questions separate. We do not average them into one headline.
Investing methods stay out of the weekly Playbook until the launch Foundations exist. A tight month is not the time to lead with portfolio design.
How the three layers stay different
Foundations are revised, not chased. We review them on a monthly cadence, or sooner if a law or official definition changes.
Playbook updates weekly, on the same weekday when possible. One method per week. Old methods stay up if they are still accurate. They are dated.
Evidence updates when the source updates. The Federal Reserve’s SHED is annual. The New York Fed household debt report is quarterly. Some CFPB credit dashboards move monthly. We do not invent a weekly “new statistic” by rewriting last year’s number.
Home “This week” always carries one item from each layer. That is how the site stays current without turning Foundations into news.
How we treat data
Every Evidence card includes:
- the number
- the date
- the publisher
- a link to the primary document
- the definition or survey question in plain English
- who is in the number, and who is not
- what changed
- what the number does not prove
“Cash or its equivalent,” in the Fed’s $400 question, means cash, savings, or a credit card paid off at the next statement. Putting a $400 charge on a card and carrying the balance is not the same thing. We keep that distinction visible because dropping it makes the country look either safer or more fragile than the survey measured.
We do not write “most Americans cannot handle an emergency” as a substitute for a defined question. Different studies use $400, $1,000, three months of expenses, or self-reported “paycheck to paycheck.” Those are different measurements.
How we treat AI
AI can help a reader:
- understand a term already explained on FourHundred
- compare two methods already published here
- sort a spending list that does not include account numbers
- draft questions to ask a card issuer, a hospital billing office, or a nonprofit counselor
AI should not:
- tell you which product to buy or which account to open
- tell you whether to file bankruptcy
- tell you what to invest in
- receive live bank, brokerage, or credit-account access
- receive a Social Security number, account number, or full statement in a public chatbot
A tool appears on the AI tools page only if we can say what it cannot do. Listings are not endorsements. We cap the launch list at three tools so the page stays a filter, not a directory.
FourHundred pages are written by people. If AI is used to outline or check structure, a person still has to verify sources, dollar examples, and limits before a page goes live.
What we will not do
- Give personalized financial, tax, or legal advice
- Rank or sell financial products
- Promise that a method will get someone out of debt or raise a credit score
- Use shame, scare headlines, or before-and-after money stories as proof
- Hide advertiser relationships if they ever exist; launch pages have none
- Treat a chatbot answer as a source
If you need a person, we point to official or nonprofit directories (for example, CFPB pages on credit counseling) rather than inventing a private referral list.
How to read a FourHundred page
Start with “Who this is for” and “Who should skip this.” Read the dollar example before the steps. Check the date. Open the source if the page turns on a number. Do one next action. Do not collect tabs.
If your situation involves a lawsuit, wage garnishment, eviction, or a decision that cannot be undone, stop on the information page and get a qualified human.
Corrections
If a number, definition, or date is wrong, the page gets a correction note with the old text, the new text, and the date of the change. We would rather show a scar than a silent edit.
To flag an error, use the contact method listed on About.
Education disclaimer
FourHundred is an education tool. It is not personalized financial, tax, or legal advice. Nothing on this site is an offer to sell a financial product or a substitute for a licensed professional who can see your full situation.
Sources used on this page:
- Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, *Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2025* (May 2026), including the $400 emergency-expense measure.