Retirement Plans
This term refers to gradually becoming entitled to keep employer contributions in your retirement account over time.
What is vesting?
This savings tool should be kept liquid, separate from investments, and used only for true unexpected expenses.
What is an emergency fund?
This type of investment pools money from many investors to buy a diversified mix of stocks, bonds, or other assets.
What is a mutual fund?
Money in a 529 plan grows this way, allowing you to avoid paying taxes on the earnings when used for qualified education expenses.
What is tax-free?
This type of insurance helps protect your income if you are unable to work due to illness or injury.
What is disability insurance?
This employer-sponsored retirement plan allows you to contribute $24,500 in 2026 (if under the age of 50)
What is a 401(K) plan?
Creating this monthly plan is often the first step in paying down debt, because it shows exactly where your money is going.
What is a budget?
Investors often feel anxious during periods of this, when markets experience rapid and unpredictable price swings.
What is market volatility?
If a child doesn’t use their 529 funds, you can avoid taxes and penalties by naming a new person in the same family to receive the funds. This person is known as the ______.
What is the beneficiary?
This type of life insurance includes a savings component that grows over time and can be accessed while the policyholder is still alive.
What is cash value life insurance?
Unlike traditional retirement accounts, this type allows early access to your contribution basis because the money was already taxed going in.
What is a Roth IRA?
This term refers to paying off debts by securing one new loan with a lower interest rate.
What is debt consolidation?
This principle states that spreading investments across asset classes can reduce risk.
What is diversification?
This type of financial award triggers a special 529 exception that removes the 10% penalty on non-qualified withdrawals up to its amount.
What is a scholarship?
This type of insurance helps pay for services like assisted living, nursing homes, or in-home care when you can no longer perform basic daily activities on your own.
What is long-term care insurance?
This strategy allows high-income earners to get money into a Roth IRA even if their income exceeds the IRS contribution limits.
What is a backdoor Roth IRA?
This workplace loan option typically allows borrowing up to 50% of your vested balance, capped at $50,000.
What is a 401(k) loan?
This fund type is designed to simplify investing by automatically shifting its asset allocation based on your expected retirement year.
What is a target date fund?
Funds from a 529 plan can now be used for up to this number of dollars per year for K–12 tuition.
What is $10,000?
This “triple tax-advantaged” account provides tax savings and shields families from unexpected medical bills—making it an important part of overall protection planning.
What is an HSA?
This rule allows penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) if you leave your job at age 55 or later.
What is the Rule of 55?
This repayment method prioritizes paying off the smallest balance first for quick wins and motivation.
What is the debt snowball method?
This strategy involves investing a fixed amount at regular intervals regardless of the market price.
What is dollar-cost averaging?
Under recent law changes, unused 529 plan funds may be rolled over into this type of retirement account under certain conditions.
What is a Roth IRA? ($35,000)
This document allows you to name who will inherit your home after your death, helping avoid probate if properly completed and filed.
What is a Transfer on Death Deed (TODD)?