Frequently Asked Questions

What kind of questions should I ask here?

Any questions dealing with money! Personal finance, investing, saving, spending, budgeting software, banking, coins, currency, credit, debt ... you name it. As long as your question is:

• detailed and specific,
• written clearly and simply,
• of interest to at least one other person somewhere, and
• on the subject of money,

it is welcome here. No question is too trivial or too "newbie".

Please look around to see if your question has already been asked -- and maybe even answered -- before you ask. (We'll help: As you write your question, possible related questions will pop up right before your eyes!) If you end up asking a question that has been asked before, that's fine. Other users will hopefully edit in links to related or similar questions to help both you and future visitors find their way.

It's also perfectly fine to ask and answer your own question, but pretend you're on Jeopardy!: phrase it in the form of a question.

Money can be a very private topic, and parts should be private. As you ask your questions, you're always in complete control of how specific and detailed you get with your numbers. But just as a financial professional can only work with what they're given by their clients, the same is true here. The more detail you give in your question, the more detail people can give in their answers.

What kinds of answers should I give here?

Give the kinds of answers you'd want if you were asking - namely, helpful, honest, courteous ones.

If a question as posed is too broad or too vague, you can ask the asker to clarify the question by commenting on the question (requires 50 reputation - more on that below). You can also explain some of the reasons why more information is needed in your answer. You can even suggest better, more detailed, more specific questions to ask that might help to get the original questioner on track.

Everyone brings their own areas of expertise. (If everyone knew everything, there wouldn't be a need for sites like this!) Treat a beginner in your area of expertise with courtesy and respect. That same person may be an expert in something you're learning yourself!

Oh, and bringing your sense of humor goes a long way!

What kind of questions should I not ask here?

Avoid asking questions that are subjective, argumentative, or require extended discussion. This site is a bit different from a discussion board. It focuses on questions that can be answered. This doesn't necessarily make this kind of site better than a discussion board, just different.

Be nice.

Treat others with the same respect you'd want them to treat you. We're all here to learn together. Be tolerant of others who may not know everything you know. Bring your sense of humor.

Be honest.

Above all, be honest. If you see misinformation, vote it down. Insert comments indicating what, specifically, is wrong. Even better — edit and improve the information! Provide stronger, faster, superior answers of your own!

Do I have to log in or create an account?

Nope. You can answer and ask questions to your heart's content as an anonymous user, much like Wikipedia. However, there are some things you won't be able to do on the site without registering. But it's easy to register if you want to. All you need is an OpenID account.

What is reputation?

Reputation is completely optional. Normal use of Cash Commons — that is, asking and answering questions — does not require any reputation whatsoever.

Remember, Cash Commons is run by you! If you want to help us run the site, you'll need reputation first. Reputation is a (very) rough measurement of how much the Cash Commons community trusts you. Reputation is never given, it is earned by convincing other users that you know what you're talking about.

Here's how it works: if you post a good question or helpful answer, it will be voted up by your peers: you gain 10 reputation points. If you post something that's off topic or incorrect, it will be voted down: you lose 2 reputation points. You can earn up to 200 reputation per day, but no more. (Note that votes for any posts marked "community wiki" do not generate reputation.)

Amass enough reputation points and Cash Commons will allow you to go beyond simply asking and answering questions:

At the high end of this reputation spectrum there is little difference between users with high reputation and moderators. That is very much intentional. We don't run Cash Commons. The community does.

What if I don't get a good answer?

In order to get good answers, you have to put some effort into the question. Edit your question to provide status and progress updates. Document your own continued efforts to answer your question. This will naturally bump your question and get more people interested in it.

If, after two days, you still don't have an answer you like, you can offer a bounty. Slice off a bit of your own hard-earned reputation -- anywhere from 50 to 500 -- and attach it to the question as a bounty. We'll even throw in 50 reputation to sweeten the deal. The bountied question will appear with a special icon in all question lists, and it will also be visible on the home page Featured tab.

Once initiated, the bounty period lasts seven days. If you mark an accepted answer, your bounty is awarded to the answerer (do note that accepted bounty answers are permanent and cannot be changed). If you do not accept an answer in seven days, the top voted answer will automatically become the accepted answer, and half your bounty will be awarded to that answer. You will always give up the amount of reputation specified in the bounty, so if you start a bounty, be sure to follow up and accept the best answer!

Of course, bounty awards, like all accepted answers, are immune to the daily reputation cap and community wiki mode.

Other people can edit my stuff?!

Like Wikipedia, this site is collaboratively edited. If you are not comfortable with the idea of your questions and answers being edited by other trusted users, this may not be the site for you.