What we do
Benefit Guru publishes plain-language educational material about how consumer assistance programs generally work. We explain the paperwork, the vocabulary, the deadlines, and the common ways an application goes wrong, so that people approaching these programs know what to expect before they start.
Our articles cover the practical mechanics: which documents programs commonly request, why two programs can look at the same paycheck and calculate different income, how to verify that a website or a phone number belongs to the agency it claims to, how to keep a case from closing over a missed renewal notice, and how to recognize the small number of scripts that nearly every benefits scam relies on.
What we are not
Benefit Guru is a private company. We are not a government agency. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any government agency, program, or department at the federal, state, or local level.
We do not determine eligibility for any program. We do not accept, complete, submit, or process applications. We do not issue, distribute, or expedite benefits or payments of any kind, and we cannot influence a decision made by an agency. Nothing on this site is a promise, guarantee, or prediction that any person will qualify for or receive anything.
Program rules, income definitions, household definitions, deadlines, and application procedures are set by the agencies that administer each program, and they change. Always confirm current requirements directly with the official agency for your state or county before relying on any summary, including ours.
How we are funded
Our educational content is free to read. We are supported by advertising and by marketing relationships with companies whose products or services may be relevant to our readers. Those relationships do not give any advertiser control over our editorial content, and we do not charge readers a fee for anything on this site.
Applications for public assistance programs are free. If anyone asks you to pay a fee to apply, to check eligibility, or to release a payment, that is not the administering agency.
How we work
We write for people who are dealing with a real deadline, not for search engines. Every article is meant to be usable in one sitting: specific, sequenced, and honest about what we do not know. When a rule varies by state or by program, we say so rather than papering over it with a general statement that would be wrong somewhere.
We do not publish success stories, testimonials about approvals, or estimates of what anyone might receive, because we are not in a position to know any of that and presenting it would be misleading.
Text messages and email
If you sign up to hear from us, you choose separately whether you want marketing messages and whether you want service and account notifications. Neither is required to read anything on this site. Message frequency is up to 6 messages per month, message and data rates may apply, you can reply HELP for help or STOP to opt out at any time, and our Privacy Policy explains how we handle your information.
Contact us
We read what readers send us, and corrections are welcome. If something on this site is out of date or wrong, tell us and we will fix it.
Benefit Guru
2303 Ranch Road 620 S, Ste 160-243
Lakeway, TX 78734
Phone: (833) 215-5492
You can also use our contact form. For questions about a specific application or case, contact the agency administering that program directly, since we have no access to any case and cannot look anything up on your behalf.