Bulls, Bears, & Bucks
This animal represents a stock market that is rising, optimistic, and charging ahead.
Bull
The standard FICO credit score range starts at 300 and maxes out at this perfectly "excellent" number.
850
This three-letter acronym represents the yearly interest rate you will be charged if you carry a balance on your credit card.
APR (Annual Percentage Rate)
With this old-school payment plan, the store holds onto your item in the back room until you have paid it off completely in smaller chunks.
Layaway
This is the number of years Mr. G has been at Scarlet Oaks, including this year.
3
A share
Making up 35% of your total score, this single factor has the biggest positive or negative impact on your FICO score.
Payment history (or paying your bills on time)
If you pay off your credit card balance completely by this specific deadline, you won't be charged a single penny in interest.
The due date
This is the upfront chunk of cash you pay out of pocket before setting up a payment plan to finance the rest of a large purchase, like a car.
A down payment
This restaurant is now worldwide, but it had humbler beginnings, being born in the same town as Mr. G.
KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken)
This strategy involves spreading your money across different investments so you don't lose everything if one single company fails.
Diversification
Using this type of plastic card has absolutely zero impact on your credit score because you are spending your own money from a checking account.
A debit card
This type of interest is calculated not just on the original amount you borrowed, but also on the accumulated interest from previous months.
Compound interest
When signing a contract for a payment plan, you should always read the fine print to look for these penalties that hit if you miss a scheduled payment date.
Late fees
This is the industry Mr. G worked in for 4 years before becoming a teacher.
Finance/insurance
This is a portion of a company's profits that is paid out to its shareholders, often as a quarterly cash payment.
A dividend
If someone does this for you, they are taking the risk that they would have to make the payments on your loan if you don't.
Co-sign
Making only this specific type of payment on your credit card bill each month will keep you in debt the longest and cost you the most in interest.
The minimum payment
When making payments on a traditional installment plan, your money goes toward paying the interest and this—the actual original amount of money you borrowed.
The principal
The first CD that Mr. G purchased for himself, at age 12, was this band's "Black Album."
Metallica
This famous index tracks 500 of the largest U.S. companies and is often used as a benchmark to measure how the overall stock market is doing.
The S&P 500
If you max out your credit cards, this metric—which accounts for 30% of your score and measures how much of your available limit you are using—will go up and hurt your score.
Credit utilization
This is the term for a loan that is not backed by collateral (like a house or car), which is why credit cards generally charge higher interest rates.
Unsecured debt
An auto loan is a classic example of this type of plan, where you pay a fixed amount every single month for a set number of years.
An installment plan (or installment loan)
This 80's extraterresterial action thriller sequel is probably Mr. G's favorite movie.
Aliens