EARNING & BUDGETING
What is Net Pay (or Take Home Pay)?
This independent federal agency insures your bank deposits up to $250,000 per account category if the bank fails.
What is the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation)?
This three-digit number, typically ranging from 300 to 850, tells lenders how reliable you are at paying back borrowed money.
What is a Credit Score (or FICO score)?
Albert Einstein supposedly called this "the 8th wonder of the world" because it is interest earned on top of interest already earned.
What is Compound Interest?
This is the specific amount of money you must pay out-of-pocket for a medical claim or car accident before your insurance company pays the rest.
What is a Deductible?
Examples of this type of expense include your rent, a car payment, or a streaming subscription—costs that stay the same every month.
What is a Fixed Expense?
Unlike a credit card, using this type of card deducts money directly and immediately from your checking account.
What is a Debit Card?
This represents the total yearly cost of borrowing money on a credit card, including interest and fees, expressed as a percentage.
What is APR (Annual Percentage Rate)?
This strategy involves spreading your money across various types of investments (like stocks, bonds, and real estate) to reduce risk.
What is Diversification?
This is the monthly or annual fee you pay to an insurance company just to keep your policy active.
What is a Premium?
Experts recommend saving enough money in an emergency fund to cover this many months of living expenses.
What is 3 to 6 months?
This is the process of matching your personal checkbook register with your monthly bank statement to ensure the balances match.
What is Reconciliation (or balancing a checkbook)?
Of the components that make up your FICO credit score, this specific factor carries the highest weight at 35%
What is Payment History (paying bills on time)?
This is a portion of a company's earnings paid out directly to its shareholders, usually quarterly.
What is a Dividend?
This type of auto insurance covers damage to your own car if you hit an object, like a tree or another vehicle.
What is Collision Coverage?
If you work hourly, this is the federal or state law requirement for overtime pay rate after working 40 hours in a single week.
What is Time and a Half ($1.5 \times$ regular pay)?
This specific type of financial institution is member-owned and non-profit, often offering lower loan rates than traditional banks.
What is a Credit Union?
This is the legally mandated period (usually 21-25 days) during which you can pay your credit card balance in full without being charged interest.
What is the Grace Period?
According to this famous financial rule of thumb, you can find out how many years it will take to double your money by dividing this number by your interest rate.
What is the Rule of 72?
This federal law allows you to get one completely free copy of your credit report from each of the three major bureaus every year.
What is the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)?
This financial phenomenon occurs when your expenses exceed your income, leading to a budget deficit.
What is Deficit Spending (or Living Beyond Your Means)?
This is a high-interest savings tool where you agree to leave your money untouched for a fixed period, like 6 months or 2 years.
What is a Certificate of Deposit (CD)?
This type of asset-backed loan requires the borrower to put up collateral (like a house or car) that the lender can take if payments aren't made.
What is a Secured Loan?
This type of retirement account allows your money to grow completely tax-free, and you don't pay taxes when you withdraw it at retirement.
What is a Roth IRA?
This type of life insurance only provides coverage for a specific, predetermined number of years and does not build cash value.
What is Term Life Insurance?