Contact
Questions, corrections, or a method to test
Found an error in a number? Have a method you think should be on the board? Reply to any email from the list, or reach out at hello@themodelhousehold.com. Every message gets read.
FAQ
Is the family real?
No — it's a model household. The person building the tests is real; the family is a fixed set of numbers (income, bills, taxes, debt) built from sourced US data and run through a real spreadsheet every month. See /about for the sources.
Is this financial advice?
No. This is education about budgeting methods, not personalized financial advice. Every test shows what happened for this household under a given method — not what you should do with your own money.
Where do the numbers come from?
BLS, IRS, KFF, USDA, HUD, and the Federal Reserve, primarily. Full list on /about, and every figure's source is also printed in the sheet's Sources tab.
How many emails will I get if I download the sheet?
A short series to get you set up, then a weekly update on the current test, every Friday. Unsubscribe link in every email.
Are there affiliate links on this site?
Yes, disclosed wherever they appear. If you sign up through one, I may earn a commission, at no cost to you.
Can I suggest a budgeting method to test?
Yes — that's most of what the contact form is for. Twelve methods are already queued (see the Scoreboard page); reply with a suggestion and it goes on the list.