ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 Sadik Alperen Ülkü

Founder and editor, Finance by Ulku

I write about money the way I wish someone had explained it to me. With the actual numbers, and with the part where it does not apply to you.

That second half matters more than it sounds. Most of what goes wrong financially is not a failure of willpower. It is someone applying a rule that was never meant for their situation, because nobody told them the rule had edges.

Study

I completed BUS202: Principles of Finance through Saylor University in 2026. Thirty-three hours, IACET accredited, 3.3 CEUs, final grade 88.57%. The course covers the time value of money, risk and return, financial statement analysis and capital budgeting.

It is a course completion certificate. Not a professional licence. I state it that way everywhere it appears, because the difference is real and people deserve to know which one they are looking at.

I keep studying. Anything I add gets listed here with the institution and the year.

What I am not

Not a licensed financial advisor. Not a registered investment adviser. Not a tax preparer or an insurance producer, in the United States or anywhere else.

Nothing on this site is personalised advice. I do not sell financial products. I do not collect reader information and pass it to salespeople. No company pays for coverage or for a favourable mention.

When a question depends on details I cannot see, I say so and tell you which kind of licensed professional can actually answer it.

How I research

Primary sources, not summaries of summaries.

Tax and retirement figures come from IRS revenue procedures and notices. Social Security numbers come from SSA releases. Medicare comes from CMS and Medicare.gov. Student aid comes from StudentAid.gov and Department of Education guidance. Consumer lending and credit come from the CFPB. Rates and market data come from the Federal Reserve, the Treasury and Freddie Mac. Insurance terms come from policy documents.

Every figure that resets each January is dated in the article. Articles get reviewed at least once a year, and anything with an annually-adjusted number gets reviewed each January.

Where I am uncertain

I say so.

Rules that vary by state get described as varying, not presented as universal. Genuine judgment calls get presented as trade-offs, not resolved with a confident recommendation I have no basis for. Things I do not know stay unknown rather than becoming a guess in a confident voice.

Corrections

Tell me and I will fix it, with a note on the page.

hello@financebyulku.com

LinkedIn Sadik Alperen Ulku | LinkedIn

I read everything. I cannot review your portfolio or tell you what to do with your money. But if something here is unclear, incomplete or simply wrong, that is exactly what I want to hear.