Ok so I've had to update the pinned rules post for the third time this year which probably tells you something about how things are going. These aren't complicated. Please just read them.
You can disagree. You can strongly disagree. You can think someone's financial strategy is completely wrong and say so. What you cannot do is call them an idiot for it. "I think that strategy is wrong because X" is fine. "you're an idiot for thinking that" gets you a warning, then a ban.
This should be obvious. Apparently it needs to be written down.
Nothing on this forum is professional financial advice. We are hobbyists and enthusiasts talking about money on the internet. Do not make major financial decisions solely based on what you read here. Consult an actual licensed financial advisor for personalized advice.
DollarGrind, its moderators, and members are not responsible for any financial losses resulting from information shared here. If you lose money because someone on this forum told you to, that's on you. This sounds harsh but we genuinely need people to understand it.
Referral links, affiliate links, "check out my blog," "I made a tool you should try" -- if your post exists mainly to promote something you benefit from financially, it will be removed. First offense is a warning and removal. Second offense is a ban. We have been extremely consistent about this and will continue to be.
Sharing a genuinely useful tool or resource you made is fine IF you disclose it's yours AND the post is substantively helpful beyond just "here's my thing." Use your judgment. We'll use ours.
I'm going to be direct here: if you post "what's the best HYSA right now" without searching first, your thread will be locked and redirected to an existing thread. This has been answered dozens of times. The search function exists. Please use it. It will save you time and it will save me time.
Same goes for "should I pay off debt or invest," "how much emergency fund do I need," "Roth vs traditional 401k," and most other beginner questions. These have good existing threads. Find them.
General Discussion is not "I don't want to figure out the right category." If your thread is about savings rates it goes in Savings. Credit card question goes in Credit. Tax question goes in Taxes. Misplaced threads get moved without warning.
Political discussion: fine when it's directly relevant to personal finance (tax policy, SS changes, interest rate decisions). Not fine when it's just general politics that happens to involve money loosely. This line is harder to define than the others but I know it when I see it.
Tax avoidance (legal strategies to reduce taxes) is fine and often discussed here. Tax evasion (lying to the IRS) is not. If you're asking whether something is legal, it probably isn't. Posts about illegal strategies get removed, and repeated violations result in a ban.
3 lines max. No images. No links to commercial sites. A link to your personal finance blog is fine if it's actually a personal finance blog and not a revenue-generating site in disguise. If your signature is causing layout issues or is longer than my patience, I will ask you to edit it once. Then I will just edit it myself.
We have banned 7 people this year for creating alt accounts after being banned. It doesn't work. We can tell. Don't do it. Creating a new account after a ban results in a permanent IP ban for both accounts. If you were banned and think it was unfair, contact me through PM on an existing account or email the contact address, don't just make a new one.
If someone is breaking rules, hit Report. Don't respond to bait, don't call them out publicly, don't start a side argument about their behavior. Just report it. The more you engage, the messier it gets for everyone. I check reports every day, usually multiple times. It will get handled.
If a mod removes your post or bans you, arguing about it publicly in the forum will make things worse, not better. PM me directly if you think a decision was wrong. I am genuinely open to being wrong and have reversed decisions before. But please don't make it a forum event.
These rules are not meant to be adversarial. The vast majority of members here are great and don't need any of this spelled out. This is for the maybe 5% who do. If you have questions about a specific rule or situation, just ask. — frugal_kate
DollarGrind is a community discussion forum. All opinions are those of individual members and do not represent financial advice. Past performance of any investment does not guarantee future results. Always consult a qualified financial professional before making significant investment decisions. DollarGrind.org is not affiliated with any financial institution mentioned on this forum.
