Vocabulary

• Personal Finance – The management of money and financial decisions for a person or family including budgeting, investments, retirement planning and investments.
• Apps – Short for application, a type of software that allows you to perform specific tasks. Applications for finance are often referred to as personal finance apps.
• Comprehensive – Covering or including everything.
• Review – A critical examination, survey, or evaluation of something.
• Budgeting – The process of creating a plan to spend your money.
• Savings – The portion of disposable income not spent on consumption of consumer goods but accumulated or invested.
• Checking Account – A deposit account held at a financial institution that allows for withdrawals and deposits.
• Savings Account – A deposit account held at a bank or other financial institution that provides principal security and a modest interest rate.
• Retirement Planning – The process of determining retirement income goals and the actions necessary to achieve those goals.
• Investments – Assets or items acquired with the goal of generating income or appreciation.
• Expense Tracking – The process of keeping track of your spending.
• Debt – Money that is owed or due.
• Credit Score – A number assigned to a person that indicates to lenders their capacity to repay a loan.
• Interest Rate – The proportion of a loan that is charged as interest to the borrower, typically expressed as an annual percentage of the loan outstanding.
• Financial Goals – Targets, usually driven by specific future financial needs.
• Net Worth – The value of all the non-financial and financial assets owned by an individual or institution minus the value of all its outstanding liabilities.
• Tax Planning – The analysis of a financial situation or plan to ensure that all elements work together to allow you to pay the lowest taxes possible.
• Asset Allocation – An investment strategy that aims to balance risk and reward by apportioning a portfolio's assets according to an individual's goals, risk tolerance and investment horizon.
• Emergency Fund – A reserve of cash set aside to cover financial surprises life throws your way.
• Mortgage – A loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note.
• Loan – A sum of money that is expected to be paid back with interest.
• Mobile Banking – A service provided by a bank or other financial institution that allows its customers to conduct financial transactions remotely using a mobile device.
• Online Banking – An electronic payment system that enables customers of a bank or other financial institution to conduct a range of financial transactions through the financial institution's website.
• Insurance – A contract, represented by a policy, in which an individual or entity receives financial protection or reimbursement against losses from an insurance company.
• Financial Planner – A qualified investment professional who helps individuals and corporations meet their long-term financial objectives.
• Broker – An individual or firm that charges a fee or commission for executing buy and sell orders submitted by an investor.
• Securities – A fungible, negotiable financial instrument that holds some type of monetary value.
• Portfolio – A collection of financial investments like stocks, bonds, commodities, cash, and cash equivalents, including closed-end funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
• Mutual Funds – An investment vehicle that is made up of a pool of funds collected from many investors for the purpose of investing in securities such as stocks, bonds, money market instruments, and similar assets.
• Stocks – Securities that represent ownership in a corporation and constitute a claim on part of the corporation's assets and earnings.
• Bonds – A debt security, similar to an I.O.U., issued by a corporation, municipality or government agency. A bond investor lends money to the issuer in exchange for interest payments.
• Dividends – A distribution of a portion of a company's earnings, decided by the board of directors, to a class of its shareholders.
• Capital Gains – An increase in the value of a capital asset (investment or real estate) that gives it a higher worth than the purchase price.
• Financial Market – A market in which people trade financial securities and derivatives at low transaction costs.
• Inflation – The rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services is rising, and, subsequently, purchasing power is falling.
• Deflation – A decrease in the general price level of goods and services.
• Recession – A significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months.
• Economic Growth – An increase in the capacity of an economy to produce goods and services, compared from one period of time to another.
• Exchange Rate – The price of one country's currency expressed in another country's currency.
• Fiscal Policy – The use of government revenue collection (taxation) and expenditure (spending) to influence the economy.
• Monetary Policy – The process by which the monetary authority of a country controls the supply of money, often targeting an inflation rate or interest rate to ensure price stability and general trust in the currency.
• Derivatives – A security with a price that is dependent upon or derived from one or more underlying assets.
• Cryptocurrency – A type of digital or virtual currency that uses cryptography for security.
• Blockchain – A growing list of records, called blocks, which are linked using cryptography. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a timestamp, and transaction data.
• Risk Management – The identification, assessment, and prioritization of risks followed by coordinated and economical application of resources to minimize, monitor, and control the probability or impact of unfortunate events or to maximize the realization of opportunities.
• Liquidity – The availability of liquid assets to a market or company.
• Cash Flow – The total amount of money being transferred into and out of a business, especially as affecting liquidity.
• Leverage – The use of borrowed capital for (an investment), expecting the profits made to be greater than the interest payable.
• Financial Statement – A formal record of the financial activities and position of a business, person, or other entity.
• Equity – The residual interest in the assets of an entity after deducting liabilities.