FAQ

How did this all get started?

Dow Jones and IAC chatted about doing some sort of business together and came up with the notion of combining forces to create a new kind of personal finance site. Unlike many corporate initiatives, the pair decided to set up FiLife as a separate, start-up entity that benefits from the knowledge of its parents while retaining the nimbleness required of a young, fast-moving Internet venture.

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Where did the name come from?

IAC renaissance man extraordinaire Eddie Dombrower gets the credit. He saw the domain for sale, thought it would work and brought it to the attention of the FiLife team. To us, FiLife is a mashup of Financial Life (as in "Get a Financial Life," the seminal personal-finance book by Beth Kobliner) and High Life (as in Miller beer). Say it like this: FIGH-life. Thanks Eddie!

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What do you stand for?

The idea that there's no such thing as a stupid question. That we can learn a lot by comparing ourselves to one another and talking about the results. Together, we can scare up the best deals on the Internet. Also, we believe it's not rude to talk about money. And that none of us are as smart as all of us.

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Where does the staff come from?

We lured some of the best minds from Dow Jones and IAC, but we also picked off amazing talent from Microsoft, the New York Times, Money Magazine, CNBC.com and TheStreet.com. A few of us are straight out of college or graduate school too.

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How many people work there?

About 20, plus a crew of outside consultants (who have been indispensable).

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Can I work there too?

There are always... possibilities, as one wise man once said. We're always looking for talent, so check out our job postings here.

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Can you tell me more about this Stacker thing?

The Stacker is a tool that provides a simple, graphic representation of how your financial situation stacks up against that of your peers or some other cohort that you choose. You answer a few simple questions, and you get a rich representation of where you stand in return. The Stacker can compare you to the U.S. as a whole. Or, it can provide a more detailed picture of where you rank against your peers using information about your age, income or zip code. After seeing where you compare, the Stacker provides you with relevant content, conversations and deals that apply to your situation. Wanna try it?

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When does the full site launch?

In the land of the Internet, the full site is like a gothic Cathedral: it's never finished, because perfection is reserved for something higher. That said, we will continue to expand and improve our offering, based on your suggestions and ideas.

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What are the rules for people who want to post?

Be nice. Don't break the law. There's more here.

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What do you do with personal data and information?

We believe strongly in protecting your privacy. With partners like The Wall Street Journal, we know how important it is to be rigorous in safeguarding personal information. If you want to read more about our privacy policy, read more here.

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I want to write for the site. May I?

We're always in the market for great ideas. We hope to pluck contributors out of our community pages, so if you want to get noticed, please pitch in there with some great advice or shoot us a note.

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Do you get paid by the companies featured in the FiDeals section?

If we have any business relationship with a company features in the FiDeals section, you'll know about it, since we will always disclose it. Being transparent is of paramount importance to us.

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What qualifies your gurus to be gurus?

Our gurus have either strong professional experience or a history of writing about their subject areas. You can learn more about our gurus by going to their profile pages, and there's a link to those pages wherever a guru appears.

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