SamCalculator

Editorial Policy

Last Updated: May 11, 2026

SamCalculator is a precise multi-calculators publisher serving a global audience. This page describes how we research, build, review, and correct every calculator on this site. We make this policy public because YMYL (Your Money, Your Life) calculators — finance, health — only work when their math is right and their sources are visible.

1. Our Editorial Principles

Three rules drive every decision on this site:

  1. Math first. Every formula is published, cited, and traceable to a peer-reviewed or government-published source. We never use blackbox approximations.
  2. Transparency over polish. We document assumptions, limitations, and edge cases in plain language — including the cases where a calculator cannot give you a meaningful result.
  3. No conflicts of interest. We do not earn affiliate commissions from any product, retailer, lender, broker, or financial institution mentioned on the site. Recommendations are based on price/feature analysis, not partnership terms.

2. Sources We Trust

Every published formula and reference statistic on SamCalculator must originate from one of these source tiers:

  • Government & regulator: CDC, NIH, USDA, IRS, FDA, BLS, Federal Reserve, SEC investor.gov, FTC, NRF, FAO, WHO
  • Professional bodies & registries: Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, S&P Dow Jones Indices
  • Peer-reviewed research: PubMed-indexed journals (NEJM, JAMA, Science, BMJ, Am J Clin Nutr), preference for high-quality systematic reviews and meta-analyses
  • Industry-standard research: Vanguard, Morningstar, Adobe Analytics, S&P SPIVA scorecards, Pew, Federal Reserve SCF

Blogs, opinion pieces, retailer marketing copy, and anonymous sources are not acceptable as primary references. They may be cited as commentary, never as a basis for a formula or statistic.

3. How a Calculator Gets Built

  1. Research. The editorial team selects the formula(s) appropriate for the use case — for example, Mifflin-St Jeor over Harris-Benedict for the calorie calculator, because the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics published it as the most accurate in 2005.
  2. Implementation. Formulas are coded against the published equations exactly, with edge cases (zero, negative inputs, extreme outliers) handled explicitly. Test cases are validated against worked examples in the source paper or government publication.
  3. Educational content. Each calculator gets an extended on-page guide covering the formula, what the result means, US-specific context where relevant, common mistakes, and a 6–10 question FAQ.
  4. Internal review. Every new or updated calculator is reviewed by a second editorial team member before going live.
  5. Publish & monitor. Released calculators are monitored for user-reported issues and re-reviewed at least once per year.

4. Review Cycle

Every calculator on SamCalculator is reviewed at least once per calendar year. The "Last reviewed" date appears at the bottom of every calculator's educational section. Calculators that depend on changing inputs (IRS contribution limits, USDA dietary guidelines, S&P historical returns) are reviewed and updated immediately when the underlying source publishes a revision.

5. Corrections Policy

If you find an error — wrong formula, outdated stat, broken edge case — email editorial@samcalculator.com with the page URL, the issue, and a source for the correct value. Valid corrections are reviewed and applied within five business days. Material corrections (anything that changes a result by >1%) are noted in the "Last reviewed" line with a brief description of what changed.

6. Financial & Health Disclaimers

SamCalculator is not a licensed financial advisor, broker, investment adviser, registered dietitian, physician, or attorney. Every calculator on this site is for general informational and educational purposes only. For decisions with material financial, legal, or medical impact, consult a licensed professional in your jurisdiction. Each calculator page carries a discipline-specific disclaimer for added clarity.

7. Advertising & Sponsorship

SamCalculator is supported by anonymous, contextual display advertising via standard ad networks. We do not run sponsored calculators, sponsored articles, or pay-for-placement reviews. We do not currently participate in affiliate marketing for any retailer, lender, broker, or financial institution. If this changes in the future, every sponsored unit will be clearly labeled and disclosed on this page.

8. AI-Assisted Writing

Educational content on calculator pages may be drafted with the help of AI tools, but every published piece is reviewed, fact-checked, and edited by a human team member before publication. Numeric formulas and statistics are never taken from AI output without independent verification against a primary source.

9. Editorial Team

The SamCalculator Editorial Team consists of writers, analysts, and developers covering personal finance, consumer health, and consumer shopping. The team is led internally and operates independently of any sponsor or advertiser. Learn more on our About page.

Related Pages

For technical details on how individual calculators work, see our Methodology page. For privacy, see our Privacy Policy. To get in touch, visit Contact.