Spending and Saving Basics
This is the money you have coming in (like from a job or allowance), while expenses are the money going out.
What is income?
This type of bank account is built for everyday spending, paying bills, and using your debit card.
What is a checking account?
Unlike a debit card, using this type of card means you are borrowing money that you must pay back later.
What is a credit card?
This is the total amount of money you earn before any taxes or deductions are taken out.
What is gross pay?
This popular budgeting rule recommends spending 50% of your income on needs, 30% on wants, and 20% on savings.
What is the 50/30/20 rule?
Doing this means setting aside a portion of your money now to use for a big purchase or emergency later.
What is saving?
This is a digital or paper record provided by your bank that shows all your transactions from the past month.
What is a bank statement?
This three-digit score ranges from 300 to 850 and tells lenders how reliable you are at paying back borrowed money.
What is a credit score?
This is your actual "take-home pay"—the money left over after taxes and deductions are removed.
What is net pay?
This strategy involves comparing the price of different brands or sizes at the store to get the best deal per ounce or pound.
What is unit pricing (or comparison shopping)?
This basic financial rule states you should never spend more money than you actually ________.
What is earn?
This three-digit number on the back of your debit or credit card is used for security during online purchases.
What is a CVV (or security code)?
If you do not pay off your credit card balance in full every month, the credit company charges you this penalty fee.
What is interest?
This tax form is filled out on your first day of a new job to tell your employer how much federal tax to take out of your paycheck.
What is a W-4 form?
Financial experts recommend saving enough money in an "emergency fund" to cover this many months of living expenses.
What is 3 to 6 months?
A "fixed expense" stays the same every month. Name one example.
What is rent (or car payments, insurance)?
This is what happens when you spend more money than you actually have in your checking account.
What is an overdraft (or bouncing a check)?
This is the percentage rate you are charged yearly for borrowing money on a credit card or loan, abbreviated as APR.
What is Annual Percentage Rate?
In the U.S., this is the federal deadline day when your annual income taxes must be filed, usually in mid-April.
What is Tax Day (April 15th)?
This is the term for a store item that is packaged under the store's own brand name and is usually cheaper than name-brand products.
What is a generic (or store brand) item?
This type of expense changes from month to month, like your grocery bill or entertainment spending.
What is a variable expense?
Banks often pay you a small percentage of money just for keeping your cash in a savings account. This extra money is called ________.
What is interest?
Missing payments or paying bills late will cause your credit score to do this.
What is drop (or go down)?
This acronym on your paycheck stub stands for the federal payroll tax that funds Social Security and Medicare.
What is FICA?
Making a sudden purchase at the checkout counter without planning for it in your budget is called this.
What is impulse buying (or impulse spending)?