How We Make Money
Running a free website takes real time and real costs — hosting, tools, writing, and keeping everything up to date. Here’s exactly how Up From Zero pays for itself.
We earn affiliate commissions
Some links on Up From Zero are affiliate links. When you sign up for a product or service through one of those links, we may earn a commission. Affiliate links only point to products we’ve researched and believe are genuinely useful for people starting from scratch. Any commission earned would come at no extra cost to you.
Our current affiliate partnerships: Kovo — credit-builder accounts (via Impact) and Credit Karma — free credit monitoring (via Awin). Every affiliate link on this site is tagged rel=”sponsored nofollow,” and the commission is paid by the partner — it never adds to your cost. The full, always-current list is on our Affiliate Disclosure page.
We only link to products we’ve researched and believe are genuinely useful for people starting from scratch. An affiliate relationship does not change our recommendations. If something isn’t a good fit for beginners, we won’t push it — commission or not.
Beyond our current partners, categories we may add over time include:
- Budgeting and savings apps
- Beginner-friendly brokerage accounts
- Credit monitoring tools
- First-time homebuyer resources
Our Affiliate Disclosure page lists every current partnership, and we update it whenever partnerships change.
Other ways we earn
We also run display advertising on this site. Over time we may add other revenue sources such as sponsored content, digital products, or courses. When we do, we will update this page and disclose it clearly.
Any sponsored content will be labeled “Sponsored” at the top of the page. Our editorial recommendations will always remain independent of paid relationships.
What we do not do
- We do not sell your personal data.
- We do not accept payment to rank or recommend a product we haven’t researched.
- We do not hide affiliate relationships or bury disclosures in fine print.
Our editorial standard
Every piece of content on Up From Zero is written and reviewed against publicly available, authoritative sources — including the IRS, CFPB, HUD, FTC, FDIC, and FINRA. We are not licensed financial advisors. Nothing on this site is personalized financial advice. It is educational information to help you understand your options and make your own decisions.
If you ever spot a link that seems misleading, outdated, or inconsistent with these standards, email us at hello@upfromzerohq.com. We take that seriously.
Last updated: October 2026