Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

What is Rudder?
Rudder is a simple and secure personal finance tool designed to minimize the effort required in managing your money.
Why am I being asked for my bank log in information?
We need your account log in, so we can connect to your banks and provide pertinent information like account balances, transactions, statement due dates, etc. Rudder employs the same advanced technologies and security safeguards that banks use to protect your online data. 24X7.
How is data secured during transmission?
All data transmitted to and from Rudder.com is encrypted using 128-bit SSL. This practice is consistent with current banking industry standards.
Is my risk of identity theft any greater?
All you need to sign up is an email address and a strong password. We do not ask for any potentially identifiable information like social security numbers, date of birth, or credit card account numbers.
Will my personal information be shared or sold?
We try to collect as little information about you as possible. As a matter of fact, the only information we store about you are transactions and balances. We will never sell or share any individual’s information. That being said, for the purposes of marketing, we may use your data anonymously along with the rest of the user base to analyze trends.
How do I know if my bank or credit card is supported?
We support over 500 banks ranging from major nationwide banks to local community banks. To find your bank, just start typing a few characters of your bank’s name. Odds are that our auto search feature will find it! If you don’t see your bank, email us and we’ll try to get it connected soon!
Why does Rudder need to know my bills?
We track your bills and notify you when they’re due. So, you’ll never miss a due date again! We also use the due dates and amounts of your bills to calculate how much you have left to spend in the near future. For instance, if we know your rent is due next week, and you barely have enough money in your checking account to cover for it, our What’s Left feature will warn you.

Here are some common categories of bills:

  • Rent/Mortgage
  • Utilities, Water & Waste
  • Car Payment
  • Insurance (Auto, medical, home)
  • Cellular & Regular Phones
  • vInternet Service, Cable and Satellite TV Providers
  • Gym & Club Memberships
  • Other Commitments (Alimony/Charity)
Does it make a difference whether I pay my bills from Credit Card or Bank?
Using a credit card vs. debit card directly impacts your What’s Left. If you pay for a bill from your checking account, money from the account is used to pay for the bill right away. However, if you use a credit card to pay that bill, money from your checking account isn’t used until you pay that credit card. This affects the amount you have left to spend in the near future.
Why do I need to enter my income?
Our What’s Left feature looks at your current bank balance, adds your projected income and subtracts your known bills in the near future. Therefore it is important for us to know how much you get paid and the frequency of your pay.
Isn’t my credit card a bill? Why does Rudder specifically need to know when I plan to pay my Credit Cards?
Credit cards are bills too but they are a bit more complicated because they can be used to pay other bills. If you pay your phone bill on your credit card for example, money for your phone bill does not come out of your bank account until your credit card payment is due. Therefore it is important to know when you plan to pay your credit card and how much of it you intend to pay off.

Email Related

If you've signed up for Rudder and you're not receiving emails, it's not your fault. It's the fault of the hysterical legislators who write anti-Spam laws that don't differentiate between legitimate services like ours and blatantly false (though still tempting) advertisements for penis elongation. The information below will help you correct your email settings in various browsers, thereby ensuring that the life-changing power of Rudder lands in your Inbox instead of your junk mail. Also included are instructions on how to unblock images so you can enjoy Rudder in all its glory.

Text vs. HTML

Most halfway decent email programs can handle HTML. Specifically, you'll be able to read HTML emails if you use Gmail, Hotmail, MSN, Yahoo! Mail, Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora Pro, Netscape Navigator, Netscape Communicator, Mozilla or AOL 6.0 and up. Eudora Light and earlier versions of Eudora Pro don't support HTML e-mail; neither does AOL 5.0 or earlier (but really, who the hell uses this stuff). Put simply, you should probably get HTML emails and if they aren't looking right, click here and make the switch to text only.

  • GMail

    If you're receiving Rudder in your spam email folder, follow these steps:

    • Login to your email account
    • Click the "Spam" link on the left
    • Click on the email sent by Rudder
    • Click the "Not Spam" bottom above the message

    To unblock images, open the message and click the green box above your Rudder message that says "Always Display Images from team@Rudder.com".

  • Windows Live Hotmail

    If you're receiving Rudder in your junk email folder, follow these steps:

    • Login to your email account
    • In the upper-right corner of the Windows Live Hotmail home page, click "Options", and then click "More Options"
    • Under Junk e-mail, click Safe and Blocked Senders
    • Click "Safe Mailing Lists"
    • Add "team@Rudder.com" (no quotes) to the list

    To unblock images and other content, open the email; click "open message"; click "show content" at the top of the message.

  • Microsoft Outlook

    If Rudder is being automatically marked as Junk E-Mail:

    • From the "Tools" menu, select "Options"
    • On the "Preferences" tab, under Email, click the "Junk E-Mail" button
    • Click the "Safe Senders" tab
    • Click the "Add" button
    • Type "team@Rudder.com" (no quotes) into the "Enter an email address or Internet domain name to be added to the list" box and click the "OK" button

    If the images in our emails are being blocked, adding Rudder.com to your "safe senders" list will also solve this problem. (Note: "Safe Sender" indicates that our service will do not damage to your computer; your mental health is another matter.)

  • AOL

    If you're not receiving Rudder in your AOL account, follow these steps:

    • Login to your email account
    • Go to AOL Keyword: "Mail Controls"
    • Next to Sender Filter, click the "Edit" link
    • Under "My Sender Filter", click the Use a Custom Sender List" link
    • Choose the "Block all senders and domains listed below or allow only the sender and domains listed below" option, then click the "Save" button
    • Click the "Save" button to close the Sender Filter window
    • Click the "Save" button to close the Mail and Spam Controls window

    To unblock images click the Mail menu, then click Mail Settings. Click the "Hide images & disable links in mail from unknown senders" box to clear it. Click the "Save" button.

  • Yahoo

    If you're receiving Rudder in your junk email folder, follow these steps:

    • Login to your email account
    • Click "Options" at the top right
    • Click "Filters"
    • Click the "Add" button
    • Name this filter, then where it says "From header contains," type "team@Rudder.com" (no quotes)
    • Where it says "Then...Move the message to," select "Inbox"
    • Click "Add Filter"

    To unblock images, click "options" and go to the "Spam Protection" section. Click "continue" until you're on the 3rd step of the process. If you've taken the above steps to designate Rudder as not spam, select the "Block images in messages that SpamGuard thinks are spam" option.

  • Postini Spam Filter

    If you're receiving Rudder in your quarantine summary, follow these steps:

    • Login to your Postini Message Center
    • Click “My Settings” in the upper right-hand corner
    • Click "Approve Senders"
    • Add "team@Rudder.com" to the Approved Senders box
    • Click "Update Approved Senders"

  • Other Internet Service Providers

    If you've subscribed to Rudder, but aren't receiving our e-mails, your Internet Service Provider or company is probably blocking them, under the misguided assumption that they're protecting you from unsolicited lewdness. Fix this by:

    • Getting in touch with technical support at your ISP or company and explaining the problem. If they're blocking e-mail from Rudder, ask them to stop. If they refuse, hit them. One way they can assist you is to put Rudder.com, team@rudder.com and/or the following IP address on a "safe list": 69.60.15.166 - 69.60.15.175
    • Setting up your own safe list, which some e-mail systems allow you to do. Look for the safe list in the settings section, and add "rudder.com" (no quotes). If you have to enter a complete address, use "team@rudder.com". Some e-mail systems require a sender to be in your address book to keep the e-mail from being diverted to a "junk" or "bulk" mail folder. If your system has this requirement, add "team@rudder.com" (no quotes) to your address book.
    • Signing up under another email account, or change ISPs to a provider that doesn't block your e-mail or otherwise stick its nose in your business.

Contact Us

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