50-30-20 Method
A budgeting method that allows an individual to spend 50 percent on needs, 30 percent on wants, and 20 percent on savings
Associate Degree
An academic program taken at the undergraduate level, typically after 2 years of study.
Auto Insurance
A type of insurance purchased by vehicle owners to protect them against financial loss in the event of an accident or theft.
Bachelor Degree
A degree given to a study by a college or university, typically after 4 years of study.
Bank
A for-profit financial institution that is federally licensed to receive deposits and issue loans.
Benefits
Any perk offered to an employee in addition to a salary. The most common benefits are health insurance, disability, and life insurance; retirement benefits; and paid time off (PTO).
Bodily Injury Liability
A type of insurance that helps pay for someone else's emergency services and medical care if the person causes a car accident.
Budget
A plan for income and expenses during a set period
Career
A profession, occupation, trade, or vocation.
Cash
Money in coins or notes
Certificate of Deposit (CD)
An account into which a sum of money is deposited for a specified length of time; it typically pays higher interest rates than standard savings and checking accounts
Certificate Program
A specialized continuing educational course of study, often used as additional training for students who already have a degree or diploma.
Check
A written, dated, and signed draft that directs a bank to pay a specific sum of money to a person or company.
Checking Account
An account at a financial institution into which money is deposited and from which checks can be written for purchases or services; may be used to receive wages and pay bills.
Collateral
Something you pledge to a lender if you fail to make payments
Collision Insurance
An auto insurance coverage that helps repair or replace the insured person's car if it's damaged in a collision with another vehicle or object
Community College
A type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma.
Comprehensive Insurance
An optional auto insurance coverage that protects against damage to a vehicle that was not caused by a collision.
Consumer
A person who buys or receives goods or services
Copay
An amount of money paid by an insured person toward the cost of medical treatment or health services
Credit Card
A card issued by a financial institution that lends money to be used for in-person and online purchases. All credit card purchases must be paid back. Interest rates are charged for balances that are not paid off during a single month billing cycle.
Credit History
Information about how you have handled your credit accounts in the past
Credit Limit
An amount ofmoney that lenders make available to you, that you can use over time or all at once.
Credit Score
A credit score is a prediction of your credit behavior, such as how likely you are to pay a loan back on time, based on information from your credit reports.
Credit Union
A not-for-profit financial institution that is member owned and operated and is licensed to receive deposits and issue loans.
Debit Card
An automated teller machine (ATM) card that can be used to pay for goods at stores or businesses, online, and at ATMs; debit cards draw the money from a checking account, in contrast to a credit card that borrows money and has to be paid back.
Debt
The amount of money you owe to a lender you've borrowed from.
Deductibles
A specific amount of money that an insured person must pay before an insurance company will pay a claim.
Deposit
Money added to an account
Direct Deposit
An automatic deposit to your account made by your employer or an outside agency (e.g, a pension or government benefit payment). These are usually recurring and can be used instead of depositing a paper check.
Disability Insurance
A type of insurance that offers protection for lost wages when the insured person gets sick, injured, or cannot work.
Down Payment
An initial payment made when something is bought using credit.
Driving Record
A record that shows the insured person's driving history, including accidents, tickets, points, or moving violations.
Electronic Payment
A payment where funds are transferred from one party to another using electronic means such as online payment systems or mobile payments.
Emergency Fund
Money that is set aside specifically for unanticipated needs. Experts recommend that people should have 3-6 months of living expenses set aside in emergency savings
Envelope Method
A budgeting system to track how much money an individual has by keeping cash in different envelopes in each budget category. Once the individual has reached the end of the envelope, they stop spending money for that budget category.
Expense
Money spent on something
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC)
A government-run organization that insures customers’ bank deposits up to $250,000 if the bank fails. The National Credit Union Administration is the equivalent for credit unions.
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity (FSEOG) grant
A federal grant that is awarded to an undergraduate student who demonstrates exceptional financial need. Grants range from $100 to $4,000 and do not need to be paid back.
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
The FAFSA is an application that gives you access to need-based federal financial aid.
Financial Institution
An organization that provides financial services to individuals and businesses.
Gift Cards
A card or token that can be exchanged for a specified cash value of goods or services from a particular business, given as a gift.
Gig Work
Temporary or freelance work provided by an independent contractor on an ondemand basis.
Goods
Merchandise or things you own
Grant
A form of inancial aid for college that does not need to get repaid
Health Insurance
A type of insurance where an insurance company agrees to pay for some or all of your medical expenses in exchange for a monthly premium payment.
Homeowners Insurance
A type of insurance that covers damages to an insured person's home, property, and personal belongings.
Income
Money received or earned for work done, from investments or other sources.
Installment Loan
A loan that provides a specific amount of money that you borrow all at once. It is set to be paid back over a period of time.
Intangible Benefits
Benefits that an employer provides that cannot be quantified in monetary terms.
Interest
Money paid at a particular rate for the use of money lent, or for delaying the repayment of a debt.
Interest Rate
The annual percentage paid on an interest-bearing savings account or CD, or the interest charged on loans. The interest paid on a deposit account is the "annual percentage yield" (APY) and the rate charged on a loan is the "annual percentage rate" (APR).
Job
A paid position of employment
Life Insurance
A type of insurance that pays our a sum of money either on the death of the insured person or after a period of time.
Long-term Financial Goal
A financial goal that will take more than five years to achieve.
Mid-term Financial Goal
A financial goal that will take anywhere from one year to five years to achieve.
Mobile Banking
A banking feature that provides access to an individual's account via their smartphone or tablet. Three channels for mobile banking are available – apps, mobile web, and SMS/text messages.
Money Market Account (MMA)
A high-yield savings account that’s FDIC-insured up to $250,000. In contrast to a CD, with a money market account, the account holder can still have regular access to their funds
National Credit Union Association (NCUA)
An independent federal agency that regulates, charters, and supervises federal credit unions.
Need
Something an individual must have to survive.
No Budget Method
A budgeting method where money is divided to pay for wants, needs, expenses, short- and long-term savings, and debt payments until no more money is left.
Online university
A university that offers higher education programs through the Internet.
Overdraft Fee
Charges by financial institutions to the account holder when the account holder spends more than what they have in their checking account.
Overdraft Fee
Charges by financial institutions to the account holder when the account holder spends more than what they have in their checking account.
Paid time off (PTO)
A block of time that an employee is paid for when they are not working.
Overdraft Coverage
An arrangement made between an account holder and their financial institution that allows the account holder to withdraw more than the balance in their account without incurring any penalties.
Pay Yourself First Method
A money management method where an individual puts money into a savings accounts before any other expenses.
Pell grant
A grant awarded only to undergraduate students who display exceptional financial need and have not earned a bachelor's, graduate, or professional degree.
Perkins loan
A low interest, subsidized federal student loan, meaning you won't pay or collect interest while you are in school.
Personal injury protection
A type of auto insurance that covers medical expenses and lost wages for the insured person and their passengers in the event of accident, regardless of who is at fault.
Personal property coverage
A type of insurance coverage that helps cover the cost of the insured person's personal items if they are damaged, destroyed, or stolen due to a covered insurance incident.
Policy premium
The amount of money someone pays over a period of time to pay for an insurance policy.
Predatory loans
Any lending practice that imposes unfair and abusive loan terms on borrowers, including high-interest rates, high fees, and terms that strip the borrower of equity.
Preexisting condition
A health issue that the insured person had before the health insurance policy took place. Insurance companies can no longer refuse to cover people or raise prices for those with preexisting conditions.
Prepaid Card
A payment card with a money stored on the card itself, not in an external account maintained by a financial institution.
Prescription drug plan
A type of insurance feature or standalone plan that offers prescription drug coverage through a private insurance company.
Price per unit
The cost divided by a measurement or weight.
Private university
A university whose funding comes from tuition, investments, and private donors instead of the government.
Property damage liability
A type of insurance that helps pay for damage caused by the insurer to another person's vehicle or property.
Public university
A university whose funding comes from the government and tax payers
Renters insurance
A type of insurance that protects the insured person's property in a rented apartment from unexpected circumstances.
Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC)
The Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, or ROTC, works by having students take military science courses while taking regular college classes, with the requirement that they must enlist in the U.S. Army, Navy, Marines, or Air Force upon graduation.
Retirement plan
A retirement account where an employee can make contributions from his or her paycheck. Employee-sponsored retirement plans are often offered by an employer as an employee benefit.
Return on investment (ROI)
The educational outcome achieved per dollar spent on education. For college, this means estimating how much a college degree costs versus your earning potential over time
Routing Number
A 9-digit number that’s based on the U.S. bank location of where the account was opened.
Savings Account
An interest-bearing account used to hold money for short- or long-term goals or emergencies. Individuals can add to this account at any time, but certain types of withdrawals may be limited.
Scholarship
A payment made to support a student's education, awarded either on the basis of academic excellence or financial need, that a student does not need to pay back.
Secured loan
A loan that requires you to have collateral.
Services
An act that is completed for pay.
Short-term disability
A type of insurance coverage that makes payments to the insured person if they become too sick or injured to work, usually between 40 to 70% of the person's income over the course of a benefit period.
Short-term financial goal
A financial goal that will take less than one year to achieve
Social Security
A federal benefit that provides retirement income for American workers.
Social Security Number (SSN)
SSN refers to a Social Security number, or a nine-digit number that can be used for identification.
Social Security tax
A federal tax on wages that provides most of the funding for Social Security.
Student Aid Index (SAI)
The Student Aid Index is a number schools will use to calculate how much aid students will receive.
Student loan
Money borrowed to help pay for a student's education that must be repaid back with interest when the student stops attending school.
Take-Home Pay
The remaining amount an individual will receive after taxes are taken out of their paycheck.
Taxes
A payment or charge collected by the government to cover the costs of government services or activities.
Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant
A federal grant program that provides assistance to students who purse teaching careers in primary and secondary education.
Trade school
A type of higher education designed to provide education or technical skills required to complete the tasks of a specific job field.
Tuition reimbursement
An employee benefit where the employer covers some or all of the costs of an employee's education.
Uninsured motorist bodily injury
A type of insurance that is designed to cover the insured person and the people in their car for medical bills and lost wages if they are in an accident caused by someone who doesn't have insurance or enough coverage.
Uninsured motorist property damage
A type of insurance that pays for the damage to the insured person's car from an accident from an uninsured driver who caused the accident.
Unsecured loan
Eligibility for this loan type is solely based on your credit score and credit history.
Vesting
In a retirement plan, this means when one recieves ownership or control. When an employee is 100% vested, they own the account balance and the employer cannot take it back.