Glossary of Financial Terms

1/1 ARM

A type of adjustable-rate mortgage with an initial rate set for the first y...

10/1 ARM

A type of adjustable-rate mortgage with an initial rate set for the first t...

3-in-1 Credit Report

Also referred to as a merged credit report, this report includes informatio...

3/1 Interest-Only ARM

A type of adjustable-rate mortgage with an initial rate set for the first t...

401(k)

Named after the portion of the federal tax code that authorizes it, a 401(k...

Adjustable rate mortgage (ARM)

In contrast to a fixed-rate mortgage, in which the interest rate paid by th...

Adjusted gross income (AGI)

This represents all of your taxable income minus specific adjustments, and...

Alternative minimum tax (AMT)

A tax provision designed especially to prevent wealthy filers from exploiti...

Amortization

The gradual settlement of a debt in which the debtor gives the creditor reg...

Annual Percentage Rate (APR)

The annual cost of credit summed up as a percentage of the outstanding debt...

Annual Percentage Yield (APY)

The effective rate of return/interest on an investment, including compoundi...

Annuity

A schedule of regularly dispersed payments which is guaranteed for a specif...

Appraisal

The estimated market value of a property, either for tax assessment or sale...

Asset

Anything owned that possesses monetary value in a market. Assets include pe...

Audit

In a general sense, an audit is an independent analysis of an entity's...

Bankruptcy

The legal declaration of financial insolvency. Declaring bankruptcy means t...

Beacon Score

One of the three most common credit scores, Beacon is the name of the FICO...

Burden of proof

Whichever side in a dispute must prove their case in order to win judgement...

Capital expenditure

Permanent improvements made to increase the value of property, such as cons...

Capital gain

Any positive difference between the selling price of an asset and the price...

Cardholder

The person in whose name a credit card company issues a line of credit. Som...

Cardholder agreement

The written contract which lays out the terms of agreement between a credit...

Cash Advance (credit card)

A credit card issuer may allow the cardholder to obtain cash using their ca...

Cash-Out Refinance

This type of loan modification/addition involves using the existing equity...

Certificate of deposit (CD)

CDs are a special type of time deposit in which the issuer (banks and other...

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Businesses that wish to restructure their debt without going under complete...

Chapter 12 Bankruptcy

Chapter 12 is a special type of bankruptcy reserved especially for farmers...

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

This type of bankruptcy does not absolve one of responsibility for one...

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

The most common type of bankruptcy, Chapter 7 is reserved for those wishing...

Charge Card

Charge cards function similarly to credit and debit cards, but with an impo...

Chattel Mortgage

A loan in which a borrower procures funds from a lender in order to purchas...

Closing Costs

The amounts that are charged by lenders and institutions in order to comple...

Co-signer

When a loan is taken out, it is sometimes the case that the borrower's...

Collateral

Any asset with monetary value that is used as security for a borrower in or...

Compound interest

Interest that is charged on the total value of the principal plus the inter...

Comprehensive coverage

A car insurance policy which covers more than just the costs associated wit...

Credit Application

The paperwork that a credit-issuing institution will require a prospective...

Credit Bureaus

The three financial analysis institutions, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnio...

Credit Card

Credit cards function similarly to charge and debit cards, but with importa...

Credit History

A generic term accounting for the sum history of a consumer's borrowin...

Credit Limit

In a revolving credit agreement such as that underlining a credit or charge...

Credit Report

The record of your credit history held by any of the three credit bureaus E...

Credit risk

In the simplest sense, credit risk is the chance that a borrower will be un...

Credit Score

A numerical score that is meant to represent a person's creditworthine...

Credit union

A cooperative non-profit financial institution formed by a non-financial gr...

Debit Card

Debit cards function similarly to credit and charge cards, but with an impo...

Debt Consolidation

The process of merging debts into a single loan and/or repayment schedule....

Deductions

Amounts that can be subtracted from a person's gross or adjusted-gross...

Default

When a person or organization which is responsible for repaying a debt fail...

Default risk

More or less synonymous with credit risk, default risk is the chance a lend...