📖 Glossary

500 money, math, and health terms explained in plain English — each with an example and a free calculator.

📖 Term of the Day: Target Heart Rate — Target heart rate is a range of heart rates, usually a percentage of maximum heart rate, used to gauge exercise…

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Absolute Value The absolute value of a number is its distance from zero on the number line, regardless of direction, so it… Accounts Payable Accounts payable (AP) is money a business owes to its suppliers or vendors for goods and services received on… Accounts Receivable Accounts receivable (AR) is money that customers owe a business for goods or services already delivered but… Additional Medicare Tax The Additional Medicare Tax is a 0.9% US tax on wages and self-employment income above certain thresholds… Adjustable-Rate Mortgage (ARM) An adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) is a home loan with an interest rate that is fixed for an initial period… Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) Adjusted gross income (AGI) is a US tax measure equal to gross income minus certain specific adjustments… AI Agent An AI agent is an AI system that can pursue a goal by planning steps and taking actions, rather than only… AI Alignment AI alignment is the effort to make AI systems pursue the goals and values their designers and users intend… AI Bias AI bias occurs when an AI system produces results that are systematically unfair to certain people or groups… AI Hallucination An AI hallucination is output from an AI model that sounds confident and plausible but is false, unsupported… Algorithm An algorithm is a finite, step-by-step set of instructions for solving a problem or completing a task… Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) The alternative minimum tax (AMT) is a separate US federal income tax calculation designed to ensure that… Amortization Amortization is the process of paying off a loan through regular, equal payments over a set period. Each… Annuity An annuity is a contract, usually with an insurance company, in which a person pays a lump sum or series of… API (Application Programming Interface) An API (application programming interface) is a defined way for one piece of software to request data or… Appraisal Gap An appraisal gap is the difference when a home appraises for less than the agreed purchase price. Because… APR (Annual Percentage Rate) APR (annual percentage rate) is the yearly cost of borrowing money, expressed as a percentage. Unlike the… APY (Annual Percentage Yield) APY (annual percentage yield) is the actual yearly rate of return on a deposit once compounding is included… Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) Artificial general intelligence (AGI) is a hypothetical form of AI that could understand, learn, and perform… Artificial Intelligence (AI) Artificial intelligence (AI) is the field of computer science focused on building systems that perform tasks… Aspect Ratio Aspect ratio is the proportional relationship between the width and height of an image, screen, or video… Assessed Value Assessed value is the value a local government assigns to a property for property tax purposes. Depending on… Asset An asset is anything of economic value that a person or organization owns or controls and that is expected to… Asset Allocation Asset allocation is how an investment portfolio is divided among different asset classes, such as stocks… Auto Loan An auto loan is a secured loan used to buy a vehicle, with the vehicle itself serving as collateral. The… Automation Automation is the use of technology to perform tasks with little or no human intervention. It ranges from… Average Order Value (AOV) Average order value (AOV) is the average amount customers spend per order over a period. AOV = total revenue…

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Backdoor Roth IRA A backdoor Roth IRA is a strategy used by people whose income is too high to contribute directly to a Roth… Balance Sheet A balance sheet is a financial statement that shows what a company owns (assets), what it owes (liabilities)… Balance Transfer A balance transfer moves debt from one credit card or loan to a different credit card, often one offering a… Balloon Payment A balloon payment is a large lump sum due at the end of a loan whose regular payments do not fully repay the… Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) Basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the number of calories the body uses at complete rest to maintain basic… Bear Market A bear market is a sustained period when stock prices are falling, commonly defined as a decline of 20% or… Beneficiary A beneficiary is a person or organization named to receive assets — such as money in a retirement account… Bid-Ask Spread The bid-ask spread is the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay for a security (the… Bill Splitting Bill splitting is dividing a shared cost, such as a restaurant check, rent, or utilities, among several… Billable Hours Billable hours are hours of work that can be charged directly to a client, as opposed to non-billable time… Billable Utilization Rate Billable utilization rate is the share of total working hours that are billed to clients, expressed as a… Binary Number A binary number is a number written in base 2, using only the digits 0 and 1. Each position represents a… Bitcoin Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency, launched in 2009 by a person or group using the name Satoshi Nakamoto… Blockchain A blockchain is a shared digital ledger that records transactions in blocks linked together in chronological… Blue-Chip Stock A blue-chip stock is a share in a large, well-established, and financially stable company with a long track… Body Composition Body composition describes what the body is made of, usually divided into fat mass and lean mass (muscle… Body Fat Percentage Body fat percentage is the proportion of total body weight that is fat tissue. Unlike BMI, it distinguishes… Body Mass Index (BMI) Body mass index (BMI) is a number calculated from a person's weight and height, used as a screening measure… Bond A bond is a loan made by an investor to a government, company, or other issuer, which promises to pay… Bonus A bonus is compensation paid to an employee in addition to regular salary or wages, often tied to company or… Break-Even Point The break-even point is the level of sales at which total revenue exactly equals total costs, so there is… Bridge Loan A bridge loan is short-term financing that helps a homeowner buy a new home before selling their current one… Brokerage Account A brokerage account is an account with a licensed broker-dealer that allows the holder to buy and sell… Budget A budget is a plan for how income will be allocated to spending, saving, and debt repayment over a set… Bull Market A bull market is a sustained period when stock prices are rising, commonly defined as a gain of 20% or more… Burn Rate Burn rate is the pace at which a company spends its cash, usually expressed per month. It is a key measure… Business Days Business days are the days on which most businesses and banks operate, typically Monday through Friday… Business Overhead Overhead is the ongoing cost of running a business that is not directly tied to producing a specific product… Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) Buy now, pay later (BNPL) is a form of short-term financing offered at checkout that splits a purchase into…

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Calendar Quarter A calendar quarter is one of four three-month periods of the year: Q1 is January to March, Q2 is April to… Call Option A call option is a contract that gives its buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy an asset — such… Calorie A calorie is a unit of energy. On food labels, “Calories” actually means kilocalories (kcal): the energy… Calorie Deficit A calorie deficit occurs when a person consumes fewer calories than their body uses, so the body draws on… Capital Gain A capital gain is the profit from selling an asset, such as a stock, bond, or property, for more than its… Capital Gains Tax Capital gains tax is a tax on the profit made from selling an asset, such as stocks, bonds, or property, for… Capital Loss A capital loss occurs when an asset is sold for less than its cost basis. In the United States, capital… Cash Advance A credit card cash advance is borrowing cash against a credit card’s limit, for example at an ATM. Cash… Cash Flow Cash flow is the movement of money into and out of a household or business over a period. Positive cash flow… Cash Flow Statement A cash flow statement is a financial statement that shows how cash moved into and out of a business during a… Cash Runway Cash runway is the number of months a company can keep operating before it runs out of cash, assuming its… Cash-Out Refinance A cash-out refinance replaces an existing mortgage with a new, larger one and pays the borrower the… Catch-Up Contribution A catch-up contribution is an extra amount that people aged 50 or older can contribute to certain US… Certificate of Deposit (CD) A certificate of deposit (CD) is a bank deposit that pays a fixed interest rate for a fixed term, such as six… Charge-Off A charge-off is when a lender writes off a debt as unlikely to be collected, usually after several months of… Chatbot A chatbot is a software application that holds a conversation with people through text or voice. Simple… Checking Account A checking account is a bank or credit union account used for everyday transactions, such as receiving pay… Child Tax Credit The Child Tax Credit is a US federal tax credit for taxpayers with qualifying children under 17. It directly… Chronological Age Chronological age is the amount of time that has passed since a person's birth, usually expressed in… Churn Rate Churn rate is the percentage of customers or subscribers who stop doing business with a company during a… Circadian Rhythm A circadian rhythm is the body's roughly 24-hour internal cycle that regulates sleep and wakefulness, hormone… Closing Costs Closing costs are the fees and expenses paid when finalizing a real estate purchase or refinance, on top of… Closing Disclosure A Closing Disclosure is a five-page form that US mortgage lenders must provide at least three business days… Co-Signer A co-signer is a person who signs a loan alongside the main borrower and agrees to repay it if the borrower… Collateral Collateral is an asset a borrower pledges to a lender as security for a loan. If the loan is not repaid as… Commission Commission is pay calculated as a percentage of the sales a person makes or the value of the transactions… Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is the constant yearly rate at which a value would have to grow to go from… Compound Interest Compound interest is interest calculated on both the original principal and on interest that has already been… Confidence Interval A confidence interval is a range of values, calculated from sample data, that is likely to contain the true… Consumer Price Index (CPI) The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures the average change over time in the prices consumers pay for a… Context Window A context window is the maximum amount of text, measured in tokens, that an AI language model can consider at… Contribution Limit A contribution limit is the maximum amount that can be added to a tax-advantaged account in a year. In the… Contribution Margin Contribution margin is the selling price of a product minus its variable costs. It shows how much each unit… Conventional Loan A conventional loan is a mortgage that is not insured or guaranteed by a government agency. Most conventional… Conversion Rate Conversion rate is the percentage of visitors or users who complete a desired action, such as making a… Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard used to regulate clocks worldwide. Time zones… Correlation Correlation is a statistical measure of how strongly two variables move together. The correlation coefficient… Cost Basis Cost basis is the original value of an asset for tax purposes, generally its purchase price plus certain… Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) Cost of goods sold (COGS) is the direct cost of producing or purchasing the goods a business sold during a… Cost of Living Cost of living is the amount of money needed to cover basic expenses — housing, food, transportation… Cost to Company (CTC) Cost to company (CTC) is the total annual amount an employer spends on an employee, including basic salary… Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) A cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is an increase in wages or benefits intended to offset inflation, so that… Credit Builder Loan A credit builder loan is a small loan designed to help people establish a credit history. Instead of… Credit Freeze A credit freeze, or security freeze, restricts access to your credit report so that most new lenders cannot… Credit Limit A credit limit is the maximum amount a lender allows a borrower to owe on a revolving account such as a… Credit Mix Credit mix refers to the variety of credit accounts on a credit report, such as revolving credit (credit… Credit Report A credit report is a detailed record of a person's borrowing history kept by a credit bureau. It typically… Credit Score A credit score is a number that summarizes how reliably a person has handled borrowing, based on the… Credit Union A credit union is a not-for-profit financial cooperative owned by its members, who share a common bond such… Credit Utilization Ratio Credit utilization ratio is the share of available revolving credit, such as credit card limits, that is… Cryptocurrency Cryptocurrency is a digital asset that uses cryptography to secure transactions and typically runs on a… Currency Denomination A currency denomination is the face value of a banknote or coin, such as a 20 note or a 25-cent coin… Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) Customer acquisition cost (CAC) is the average amount a business spends to win one new customer, including… Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) Customer lifetime value (CLV or LTV) is an estimate of the total profit or revenue a business can expect from…

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Data Storage Units (KB, MB, GB, TB) Data storage units measure the size of digital information. A byte is 8 bits. In the decimal (SI) system used… Day of the Year The day of the year, or ordinal date, is a date's position counted from January 1, which is day 1. December… Day Rate A day rate is a fixed fee charged for one day of work, common among freelancers, contractors, and… Daylight Saving Time (DST) Daylight saving time (DST) is the practice of moving clocks forward by one hour during the warmer months so… Debt Avalanche Method The debt avalanche method is a repayment strategy in which a borrower makes minimum payments on all debts and… Debt Collection Debt collection is the process of pursuing payment of overdue debts, either by the original lender or by a… Debt Consolidation Debt consolidation means combining several debts into a single new loan or account, so that one payment… Debt Settlement Debt settlement is an agreement in which a creditor accepts less than the full amount owed to resolve a debt… Debt Snowball Method The debt snowball method is a repayment strategy in which a borrower makes minimum payments on all debts and… Debt-to-Income Ratio (DTI) Debt-to-income ratio (DTI) compares a person's monthly debt payments with their gross monthly income… Decimal Hours Decimal hours express time as a decimal number of hours instead of hours and minutes, which makes it easy to… Deep Learning Deep learning is a type of machine learning that uses neural networks with many layers to learn complex… Deepfake A deepfake is an image, video, or audio recording created or altered with AI to realistically show someone… Defined Contribution Plan A defined contribution plan is a retirement plan in which the employee, the employer, or both contribute to… Deflation Deflation is a sustained decrease in the general price level of goods and services, meaning money buys more… Delinquency Delinquency is the status of a loan or credit account when a required payment has been missed. It is often… Dependent (Tax) For tax purposes, a dependent is a qualifying child or qualifying relative whom a taxpayer can claim on their… Depreciation Depreciation is the process of spreading the cost of a long-lasting asset — such as equipment, vehicles, or… Direct Deposit Direct deposit is an electronic payment that sends money straight into a bank or credit union account… Discretionary Spending Discretionary spending is money spent on non-essential goods and services — wants rather than needs —… Disposable Income Disposable income is the income a household has left after paying income taxes and mandatory payroll… Diversification Diversification is the practice of spreading money across different assets, industries, or regions so that… Dividend A dividend is a payment a company makes to its shareholders, usually in cash, from its profits. Dividends are… Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP) A dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP) automatically uses cash dividends to buy additional shares, often… Dividend Yield Dividend yield is a company's annual dividend per share divided by its current share price, expressed as a… Dollar-Cost Averaging Dollar-cost averaging is the practice of investing a fixed amount at regular intervals, regardless of the… Double Time Double time is pay at twice an employee's regular hourly rate. US federal law does not require double time… Down Payment A down payment is the portion of a purchase price paid upfront in cash, with the rest financed by a loan. For… Dropshipping Dropshipping is a retail model in which a store sells products without keeping them in stock: when a customer…

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Early Withdrawal Penalty An early withdrawal penalty is a charge for taking money out of an account before a specified time. For US… Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a US federal tax credit for workers with low to moderate earned… Earnest Money Earnest money is a deposit a home buyer pays after a seller accepts their offer, showing good faith that they… Earnings Per Share (EPS) Earnings per share (EPS) is a company’s net profit divided by the number of its outstanding common shares… EBITDA EBITDA stands for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. It measures a company’s… Effective Tax Rate An effective tax rate is the share of income actually paid in tax, calculated as total tax divided by total… Embedding (AI) In AI, an embedding is a list of numbers (a vector) that represents a piece of content — such as a word… Emergency Fund An emergency fund is money set aside specifically to cover unexpected expenses or a loss of income, such as a… EMI (Equated Monthly Installment) EMI (equated monthly installment) is the fixed amount a borrower pays every month to repay a loan, covering… Employee Stock Options Employee stock options give an employee the right to buy a set number of company shares at a fixed price… Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) An employee stock purchase plan (ESPP) lets employees buy company shares through payroll deductions, often at… Employer Match An employer match is a contribution an employer makes to an employee's retirement account, such as a 401(k)… Envelope Budgeting Envelope budgeting is a method in which money for each spending category is set aside separately… Equinox An equinox is one of the two moments each year when the Sun crosses the celestial equator, occurring around… Escrow Account An escrow account, in the mortgage context, is an account managed by the loan servicer that collects part of… Estate Tax Estate tax is a tax on the transfer of a deceased person’s assets, calculated on the value of the estate… Estimated Due Date (EDD) An estimated due date (EDD) is the projected date of childbirth, typically calculated as 280 days (40 weeks)… Estimated Taxes Estimated taxes are periodic payments of income tax, and for the self-employed also self-employment tax, made… Exchange Rate An exchange rate is the price of one currency expressed in another, such as how many euros one US dollar… Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) An exchange-traded fund (ETF) is a fund that holds a basket of assets, such as stocks, bonds, or commodities… Excise Tax An excise tax is a tax on a specific good or activity, such as gasoline, alcohol, tobacco, or airline… Exempt Employee An exempt employee, under the US Fair Labor Standards Act, is one who is not entitled to overtime pay… Expense Ratio An expense ratio is the annual fee a mutual fund or ETF charges, expressed as a percentage of the assets… Exponent An exponent shows how many times a number, called the base, is multiplied by itself. In 2⁵, the base is 2… Exponential Growth Exponential growth is growth in which a quantity increases by the same percentage in each period, so the…

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FDIC Insurance FDIC insurance is protection provided by the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation for deposits at member… Fertile Window The fertile window is the time in a menstrual cycle when pregnancy is possible: typically the five days… FHA Loan An FHA loan is a US mortgage insured by the Federal Housing Administration, designed to make home buying… FICA Tax FICA (Federal Insurance Contributions Act) tax is the US payroll tax that funds Social Security and Medicare… FICO Score A FICO Score is a widely used credit score created by the company FICO. Base FICO Scores range from 300 to… Filing Status Filing status is the category a US taxpayer uses on their federal return, based mainly on marital status and… Financial Literacy Financial literacy is the knowledge and skills needed to make informed decisions about money, including… Fine-Tuning Fine-tuning is the process of taking an AI model that has already been trained on broad data and training it… FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) FIRE (financial independence, retire early) is a movement built around saving a large share of income so that… Fiscal Year A fiscal year is a 12-month period that a government or organization uses for budgeting and financial… Fixed Costs Fixed costs are business costs that do not change with the level of production or sales over a given period… Fixed Expenses Fixed expenses are costs that stay the same, or nearly the same, from month to month, such as rent or… Fixed-Rate Mortgage A fixed-rate mortgage is a home loan whose interest rate stays the same for the entire term, so the… Flat Interest Rate A flat interest rate is charged on the full original loan amount for the entire term, even though the… Flat Tax A flat tax is a tax system that applies a single rate to all taxable income, regardless of how much a person… Form 1099 Form 1099 is a family of US information returns that report income other than wages. Form 1099-NEC reports… Form W-2 Form W-2, the Wage and Tax Statement, is the form a US employer issues to each employee after the year ends… Form W-4 Form W-4 is the US form employees give their employer to indicate how much federal income tax to withhold… Fraction A fraction represents a part of a whole or a division of one number by another, written as a numerator over a… Fuel Economy (MPG) Fuel economy measures how far a vehicle travels on a given amount of fuel. In the United States it is… Fulfillment Fee A fulfillment fee is a charge for storing, picking, packing, and shipping an order on a seller's behalf… Full Retirement Age Full retirement age (FRA) is the age at which a person can receive 100% of their Social Security retirement… Future Value Future value (FV) is the amount a sum of money will grow to at a given rate of return over a period. For a…

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Generative AI Generative AI refers to artificial intelligence systems that create new content — such as text, images… Gestational Age Gestational age is the standard way of measuring how far along a pregnancy is, counted in weeks from the… Gift Tax Gift tax is a tax on transfers of money or property to another person without receiving full value in return… Gig Economy The gig economy is the part of the labor market made up of short-term, flexible, task-based work — often… GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) GPT stands for Generative Pre-trained Transformer, a type of large language model. “Generative” means it… Grace Period A grace period is a span of time during which a payment can be made, or a balance paid, without interest or… Grade Point Average (GPA) Grade point average (GPA) is a weighted average of a student's grades, where each letter grade is converted… Gratuity A gratuity, or tip, is an extra payment given to a service worker in addition to the listed price, commonly… Greatest Common Factor (GCF) The greatest common factor (GCF) of two or more whole numbers is the largest number that divides all of them… Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is the mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London, historically… Gross Income Gross income is total income before any taxes or deductions are taken out. For an employee, it is the full… Gross Profit Gross profit is revenue minus the cost of goods sold (COGS): the direct costs of producing or buying the… Growth Stock A growth stock is a share in a company expected to increase its revenue or earnings faster than the overall…

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Hard Credit Inquiry A hard credit inquiry, or hard pull, happens when a lender checks your credit report because you applied for… Health Savings Account (HSA) A health savings account (HSA) is a US tax-advantaged account for people enrolled in a qualifying… Heart Rate Reserve Heart rate reserve (HRR) is the difference between maximum heart rate and resting heart rate. It is used in… Heart Rate Variability (HRV) Heart rate variability (HRV) is the variation in time between consecutive heartbeats, measured in… Hexadecimal Hexadecimal (hex) is a base-16 number system that uses the digits 0–9 and the letters A–F to represent… High-Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) A high-deductible health plan (HDHP) is a US health insurance plan with a higher deductible and typically… High-Yield Savings Account A high-yield savings account is a savings account that pays a notably higher interest rate than the national… HOA Fees HOA fees are regular dues paid to a homeowners association by owners of properties in certain neighborhoods… Home Appraisal A home appraisal is an independent estimate of a property's market value, prepared by a licensed appraiser… Home Equity Home equity is the portion of a property's value that the owner actually owns: the current market value minus… Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) A home equity line of credit (HELOC) is a revolving line of credit secured by a home. The owner can borrow… Home Equity Loan A home equity loan is a lump-sum loan secured by the equity in a home, repaid in fixed installments, usually… Home Inspection A home inspection is a visual examination of a property's condition by a professional inspector, typically… Home Warranty A home warranty is a service contract that covers the repair or replacement of certain home systems and… Homeowners Insurance Homeowners insurance is a policy that covers damage to a home and its contents from specified events, such as… Hourly Wage An hourly wage is pay calculated for each hour worked. To compare it with an annual salary, a common… Hyperinflation Hyperinflation is extremely rapid and out-of-control inflation, in which prices rise so quickly that money…

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I Bond (Series I Savings Bond) An I bond (Series I savings bond) is a US government savings bond whose interest rate combines a fixed rate… Ideal Body Weight Ideal body weight is an estimated weight considered healthy for a person's height, calculated with… Improper Fraction An improper fraction is a fraction whose numerator is greater than or equal to its denominator, such as 7/4… Impulse Buying Impulse buying is making an unplanned purchase driven by emotion or a sudden urge rather than by a prior… Income Statement An income statement, also called a profit and loss (P&L) statement, is a financial statement that shows a… Independent Contractor An independent contractor is a self-employed person or business that provides services to clients under… Index Fund An index fund is a mutual fund or ETF that aims to track the performance of a specific market index, such as… Inference (AI) In AI, inference is the stage where a trained model is used to make predictions or generate output from new… Inflation Inflation is the general rise in the prices of goods and services over time, which means a unit of currency… Inheritance Tax Inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who receives money or property from someone who has died. Rates and… Installment Loan An installment loan is a loan repaid through a fixed number of scheduled payments, usually monthly, over a… Insurance Deductible An insurance deductible is the amount a policyholder must pay out of pocket on a covered claim before the… Insurance Premium An insurance premium is the amount a policyholder pays, usually monthly or annually, to keep an insurance… Interest Rate An interest rate is the percentage a lender charges for borrowing money, or the percentage a bank pays on… Interest-Only Loan An interest-only loan is a loan in which, for an initial period, the borrower pays only the interest and none… Internet Speed (Mbps) Mbps (megabits per second) measures data transfer speed, commonly used for internet connections. Because… Interquartile Range (IQR) The interquartile range (IQR) is the difference between the third quartile (Q3) and the first quartile (Q1)… Inventory Turnover Inventory turnover measures how many times a business sells and replaces its inventory during a period. It is… Invoice An invoice is a document a seller sends to a buyer requesting payment for goods or services provided. It… ISO 8601 Date Format ISO 8601 is the international standard for writing dates and times. Its basic date format is YYYY-MM-DD, such… ISO Week Number An ISO week number identifies a week of the year under the ISO 8601 international standard. Weeks start on… Itemized Deductions Itemized deductions are specific eligible expenses that US taxpayers can list and subtract from adjusted…

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Large Language Model (LLM) A large language model (LLM) is an AI model trained on very large amounts of text to understand and generate… Late Fee A late fee is a charge applied when a payment is not received by its due date. Credit cards, loans, rent… Late Payment Interest Late payment interest is interest charged on an overdue amount for the period it remains unpaid. It is common… Lean Body Mass Lean body mass is total body weight minus body fat. It includes muscle, bone, organs, skin, and water. It can… Leap Second A leap second is a one-second adjustment occasionally added to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) to keep it… Leap Year A leap year is a year with 366 days instead of 365, with February 29 added to keep the calendar aligned with… Least Common Multiple (LCM) The least common multiple (LCM) of two or more whole numbers is the smallest positive number that each of… Liability A liability is an amount of money a person or business owes to others. Personal liabilities include… Lifestyle Inflation Lifestyle inflation, also called lifestyle creep, is the tendency for spending to rise as income rises, so… Limit Order A limit order is an instruction to buy or sell a security only at a specified price or better. A buy limit… Line of Credit A line of credit is a flexible borrowing arrangement that lets a borrower draw money as needed up to a set… Linear Regression Linear regression is a statistical method that fits a straight line through data to describe the relationship… Liquidity Liquidity is how quickly and easily an asset can be converted into cash without significantly affecting its… Living Paycheck to Paycheck Living paycheck to paycheck describes a situation in which a person’s income is almost entirely used for… Living Wage A living wage is the hourly pay a worker needs to cover basic living costs — such as housing, food… Loan Default Loan default is the failure to repay a loan as agreed, usually after a period of missed payments defined in… Loan Estimate A Loan Estimate is a standardized three-page form that US mortgage lenders must provide within three business… Loan Origination Fee A loan origination fee is a one-time charge a lender collects for processing a new loan, usually expressed as… Loan Term A loan term is the length of time over which a loan is scheduled to be repaid, such as 36 months for a car… Loan-to-Value Ratio (LTV) Loan-to-value ratio (LTV) compares the size of a loan with the value of the asset securing it, expressed as a… Logarithm A logarithm answers the question: to what power must a base be raised to produce a given number? For example… Long-Term Capital Gain A long-term capital gain is profit from selling an asset held for more than one year. In the United States… Luteal Phase The luteal phase is the part of the menstrual cycle between ovulation and the start of the next period. It…

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Machine Learning Machine learning is a branch of artificial intelligence in which computers learn patterns from data instead… Macronutrients Macronutrients are the nutrients the body needs in large amounts for energy and structure: protein… Margin of Error Margin of error is the amount by which a survey or poll result may differ from the true value in the whole… Marginal Tax Rate A marginal tax rate is the rate of tax applied to the next unit of income, which is the rate of the highest… Market Capitalization Market capitalization, or market cap, is the total market value of a company’s outstanding shares… Market Order A market order is an instruction to buy or sell a security immediately at the best available current price… Marketplace Seller Fees Marketplace seller fees are the charges online platforms deduct from a seller's revenue for listing, selling… Markup Markup is the amount added to a product's cost to arrive at its selling price, usually expressed as a… Maximum Heart Rate Maximum heart rate is the highest number of beats per minute the heart can reach during maximal physical… Mean (Average) The mean, or arithmetic average, is the sum of all values in a data set divided by the number of values. For… Median The median is the middle value of a data set once the values are sorted in order. With an odd number of… Menstrual Cycle The menstrual cycle is the monthly series of hormonal changes that prepares the body for possible pregnancy… MET (Metabolic Equivalent of Task) A MET (metabolic equivalent of task) expresses the energy cost of an activity as a multiple of the energy… Metabolism Metabolism is the set of chemical processes by which the body converts food into energy and uses that energy… Metric System The metric system is a decimal-based system of measurement used by most of the world, formalized as the… Mill Rate A mill rate, or millage rate, is a way of expressing a property tax rate: one mill equals one-thousandth of a… Minimum Payment A minimum payment is the smallest amount a cardholder must pay by the due date to keep a credit card account… Minimum Wage Minimum wage is the lowest hourly pay that employers are legally required to pay covered workers. Many… Mixed Number A mixed number combines a whole number and a proper fraction, such as 2 3/4, meaning 2 plus 3/4. To convert… Mode The mode is the value that appears most often in a data set. In 2, 3, 3, 5, 8 the mode is 3. A data set can… Model Parameters (AI) In AI, parameters are the internal numerical values — mainly the weights of a neural network’s… Money Market Account A money market account is an interest-bearing deposit account at a bank or credit union that often combines… Money Market Fund A money market fund is a mutual fund that invests in short-term, high-quality debt, such as Treasury bills… Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) Monthly recurring revenue (MRR) is the predictable revenue a subscription business expects to receive every… Mortgage A mortgage is a loan used to buy real estate, in which the property itself serves as collateral. The borrower… Mortgage Points Mortgage points, also called discount points, are fees paid to a lender at closing in exchange for a lower… Mortgage Pre-Approval Mortgage pre-approval is a lender's conditional statement of how much it is willing to lend a borrower, based… Mortgage Pre-Qualification Mortgage pre-qualification is an early estimate from a lender of how much a borrower might be able to borrow… Mortgage Rate Lock A mortgage rate lock is a lender's commitment to hold a specific interest rate for a set period, commonly 30… Mortgage Recast A mortgage recast, or re-amortization, is when a borrower makes a large lump-sum payment toward the principal… Municipal Bond A municipal bond, or muni, is a debt security issued by a US state, city, county, or other local government… Mutual Fund A mutual fund is an investment vehicle that pools money from many investors to buy a portfolio of securities…

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Paid Time Off (PTO) Paid time off (PTO) is time away from work for which an employee is still paid, often combining vacation… Passive Income Passive income is money earned with relatively little ongoing effort once something has been set up, such as… Password Entropy Password entropy is a measure of how unpredictable a password is, expressed in bits. For a randomly generated… Pay Period A pay period is the recurring span of time for which an employee's pay is calculated. Common schedules are… Pay Raise A pay raise is an increase in an employee's wage or salary. It is usually expressed as a percentage of the… Pay Stub A pay stub is a document provided with each paycheck that details earnings and deductions for the pay period… Pay Yourself First Pay yourself first is a budgeting approach in which a set amount is moved to savings or investments as soon… Payday Loan A payday loan is a small, short-term loan, typically due on the borrower’s next payday, usually about two… Payment Processing Fee A payment processing fee is the charge a business pays to accept electronic payments, such as credit and… Payroll Tax Payroll taxes are taxes calculated on wages and paid by employees, employers, or both. In the United States… Penalty APR A penalty APR is a higher interest rate a credit card issuer can apply after certain events, most commonly a… Pension A pension, or defined benefit plan, is an employer-sponsored retirement plan that promises a specific income… Percentage A percentage is a number expressed as a fraction of 100, written with the % symbol. 25% means 25 out of 100… Percentage Change Percentage change measures how much a value has increased or decreased relative to its original value… Percentage Discount A percentage discount reduces a price by a stated percentage of the original price. Sale price = original… Percentage Point A percentage point is the unit for the arithmetic difference between two percentages. If a rate rises from 4%… Percentile A percentile indicates the value below which a given percentage of observations in a data set fall. Scoring… Personal Loan A personal loan is an installment loan that provides a lump sum repaid in fixed monthly payments over a set… PITI (Principal, Interest, Taxes, Insurance) PITI stands for principal, interest, taxes, and insurance — the four parts that commonly make up a monthly… Pre-Tax Deduction A pre-tax deduction is an amount taken from an employee's gross pay before certain taxes are calculated… Prepayment Penalty A prepayment penalty is a fee some lenders charge when a borrower pays off all or part of a loan earlier than… Present Value Present value (PV) is today's value of an amount of money to be received in the future, calculated by… Price-to-Earnings Ratio (P/E) The price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) compares a company's share price with its earnings per share. P/E = share… Price-to-Rent Ratio The price-to-rent ratio compares the price of homes with the cost of renting similar homes in the same area… Prime Factorization Prime factorization is writing a whole number as a product of prime numbers. For example, 60 = 2 × 2 × 3 ×… Prime Number A prime number is a whole number greater than 1 whose only positive divisors are 1 and itself, such as 2, 3… Principal Principal is the original amount of money borrowed on a loan, or the original amount deposited or invested… Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) Private mortgage insurance (PMI) is insurance that protects the lender, not the borrower, if a borrower stops… Probability Probability is a measure of how likely an event is to happen, expressed as a number from 0 (impossible) to 1… Profit Margin Profit margin is profit expressed as a percentage of revenue, showing how much of each unit of sales is kept… Progressive Overload Progressive overload is a training principle in which the demands placed on the body are gradually increased… Progressive Tax A progressive tax is a tax in which the rate rises as the taxable amount rises, so higher incomes pay a… Prompt In AI, a prompt is the input — usually text, sometimes images or files — that a person gives a generative… Prompt Engineering Prompt engineering is the practice of designing and refining prompts so that a generative AI model produces… Property Tax Property tax is a tax charged by local governments on real estate, usually based on the assessed value of the… Purchasing Power Purchasing power is the quantity of goods and services that a unit of money can buy. When prices rise because… Put Option A put option is a contract that gives its buyer the right, but not the obligation, to sell an asset at a set…

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Range (Statistics) In statistics, the range is the difference between the largest and smallest values in a data set: range =… Ratio A ratio compares two or more quantities, showing how many times one contains the other. It can be written as… Reading Time Reading time is an estimate of how long it takes to read a text, calculated by dividing its word count by an… Real Estate Contingency In real estate, a contingency is a condition in a purchase contract that must be met for the sale to go… Real Rate of Return The real rate of return is the return on an investment or savings after adjusting for inflation. It shows how… Rebalancing Rebalancing is the process of buying or selling assets to return a portfolio to its target asset allocation… Recession A recession is a significant, widespread, and lasting decline in economic activity, typically visible in… Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) is the average daily intake of a nutrient sufficient to meet the… Recurring Subscription A recurring subscription is a service billed automatically at regular intervals, such as monthly or yearly… Reducing Balance Rate A reducing balance rate (also called a declining balance rate) charges interest only on the loan amount still… Referral Fee In online marketplaces, a referral fee is a commission the platform charges on each sale, usually a… Refinancing Refinancing means replacing an existing loan with a new loan, usually with a different interest rate, term… Reinforcement Learning Reinforcement learning is a type of machine learning in which an agent learns by trial and error, taking… REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) A REIT (real estate investment trust) is a company that owns, operates, or finances income-producing real… REM Sleep REM (rapid eye movement) sleep is a sleep stage characterized by rapid eye movements, vivid dreaming, and… Rent-to-Income Ratio The rent-to-income ratio compares monthly rent with gross monthly income, expressed as a percentage. A widely… Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) A required minimum distribution (RMD) is the minimum amount the IRS requires owners of certain tax-deferred… Resting Heart Rate Resting heart rate is the number of times the heart beats per minute while at complete rest, best measured in… Restricted Stock Units (RSU) Restricted stock units (RSUs) are a form of equity compensation in which an employer promises to give an… Retail Price The retail price is the price at which a product is sold to the final consumer. It includes the retailer's… Retirement Account Rollover A rollover is the transfer of money from one retirement account to another — for example, from a former… Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) is a technique in which an AI system first searches a set of documents… Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) Return on ad spend (ROAS) measures the revenue generated for every unit of currency spent on advertising. It… Return on Investment (ROI) Return on investment (ROI) measures the gain or loss from an investment relative to its cost, expressed as a… Revenue Revenue is the total money a business receives from selling goods or services before any costs are… Reverse Mortgage A reverse mortgage is a loan that lets older homeowners convert part of their home equity into cash without… Revolving Credit Revolving credit is a type of credit that can be borrowed, repaid, and borrowed again up to a set limit, with… Risk Tolerance Risk tolerance is the degree of variability in investment returns, including potential losses, that a person… Roman Numerals Roman numerals are a number system from ancient Rome that uses letters: I = 1, V = 5, X = 10, L = 50, C =… Roth 401(k) A Roth 401(k) is a type of employer retirement plan contribution made with after-tax money. Contributions do… Roth Conversion A Roth conversion moves money from a pre-tax retirement account, such as a traditional IRA or 401(k), into a… Roth IRA A Roth IRA is a US individual retirement account funded with after-tax money. Contributions are not… Rule of 55 The rule of 55 is a US tax provision that lets workers who leave their job in or after the calendar year they… Rule of 72 The rule of 72 is a quick way to estimate how many years it takes for a value to double at a given annual… Running Pace Running pace is the time it takes to cover a unit of distance, usually expressed in minutes per mile or…

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Salary A salary is a fixed amount of pay for work, usually stated as an annual figure and paid in equal installments… Sales Tax Sales tax is a tax added to the price of goods and some services at the point of sale and collected by the… Sample vs. Population In statistics, a population is the entire group of interest, while a sample is a subset of that group… Saver’s Credit The Saver’s Credit (Retirement Savings Contributions Credit) is a US tax credit for low- and… Savings Account A savings account is a deposit account at a bank or credit union that holds money and pays interest, usually… Savings Rate A savings rate is the percentage of income that is saved rather than spent over a period. It is commonly… Schedule C Schedule C is the US federal tax form sole proprietors and single-member LLC owners use to report business… Scientific Notation Scientific notation is a way of writing very large or very small numbers as a number between 1 and 10… Secured Credit Card A secured credit card is a credit card backed by a cash deposit, which usually becomes the card’s credit… Secured Loan A secured loan is a loan backed by collateral — an asset the lender can take if the borrower does not repay… Self-Employment Tax Self-employment tax is the Social Security and Medicare tax paid by people who work for themselves in the… SEP IRA A SEP IRA (Simplified Employee Pension) is a US retirement plan that lets self-employed people and small… Severance Pay Severance pay is compensation an employer provides to an employee whose job ends, typically through layoff or… Shift Differential A shift differential is extra pay for working less desirable hours, such as evening, night, weekend, or… Short Selling Short selling is borrowing shares and selling them, with the plan of buying them back later at a lower price… Short-Term Capital Gain A short-term capital gain is profit from selling an asset held for one year or less. In the United States… Side Hustle A side hustle is paid work done in addition to a primary job, such as freelancing, tutoring, reselling… Significant Figures Significant figures (sig figs) are the digits in a number that carry meaningful information about its… Simple Interest Simple interest is interest calculated only on the original principal, never on interest already earned or… SIMPLE IRA A SIMPLE IRA (Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees) is a US retirement plan for small employers… Sinking Fund In personal finance, a sinking fund is money saved gradually for a specific, planned future expense, such as… Sleep Cycle A sleep cycle is a repeating sequence of sleep stages — light sleep, deep sleep, and REM (rapid eye… Social Security Benefits Social Security benefits are monthly payments from the US Social Security program to eligible retirees… Social Security Wage Base The Social Security wage base is the maximum amount of earnings each year subject to the 6.2% Social Security… Soft Credit Inquiry A soft credit inquiry, or soft pull, is a credit check that does not affect credit scores. Examples include… Solo 401(k) A solo 401(k), or individual 401(k), is a US retirement plan for self-employed people and business owners… Solstice A solstice is one of the two moments each year when the Sun reaches its farthest point north or south of the… Spousal IRA A spousal IRA lets a married person with little or no earned income contribute to their own IRA based on… Square Root The square root of a number is a value that, when multiplied by itself, gives that number. The square root of… Stagflation Stagflation is an economic situation that combines high inflation with slow or stagnant economic growth and… Standard Deduction The standard deduction is a fixed amount that US taxpayers can subtract from their income before federal… Standard Deviation Standard deviation measures how spread out the values in a data set are around their mean. A small standard… Standard Error The standard error of the mean measures how much a sample mean is expected to vary from the true population… Standard Mileage Rate The standard mileage rate is an amount per mile, set by the IRS, that US taxpayers can use to calculate… State Income Tax State income tax is a tax that most US states levy on the income of residents and of non-residents who earn… Stock A stock is a security that represents partial ownership of a company. Each unit is called a share… Stock Split A stock split is when a company increases its number of shares by dividing each existing share into multiple… Stop-Loss Order A stop-loss order is an instruction to sell a security automatically once its price falls to a specified… Student Loan A student loan is money borrowed to pay for education costs such as tuition, fees, books, and living… Sunk Cost A sunk cost is money, time, or effort that has already been spent and cannot be recovered, whatever is… Supervised Learning Supervised learning is a type of machine learning in which a model is trained on labeled examples — inputs…

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Target Heart Rate Target heart rate is a range of heart rates, usually a percentage of maximum heart rate, used to gauge… Target-Date Fund A target-date fund is a mutual fund or ETF designed around an expected retirement year, such as 2050. It… Tax Audit A tax audit is a review by a tax authority, such as the IRS in the US, of a tax return and the records behind… Tax Avoidance vs. Tax Evasion Tax avoidance means legally reducing taxes by using provisions the law allows, such as deductions, credits… Tax Bracket A tax bracket is a range of taxable income that is taxed at a specific rate. In a progressive system such as… Tax Credit A tax credit is an amount subtracted directly from the tax owed, rather than from income. A 1,000 credit… Tax Deduction A tax deduction is an amount subtracted from income before tax is calculated, which lowers taxable income… Tax Extension A tax extension gives a taxpayer more time to file a tax return. In the US, individuals can request an… Tax Refund A tax refund is money returned to a taxpayer when the tax paid during the year, through withholding or… Tax Withholding Tax withholding is income tax that an employer deducts from an employee's pay and sends to the government… Tax-Deferred Tax-deferred means that taxes on money, or on its investment earnings, are postponed until a later date… Taxable Income Taxable income is the portion of income on which income tax is actually calculated, after subtracting… Temperature (AI) In AI language models, temperature is a setting that controls how random the output is. A low temperature… Temperature Conversion Temperature conversion changes a temperature from one scale to another. To convert Celsius to Fahrenheit… Time Value of Money The time value of money is the principle that a sum of money is worth more now than the same sum in the… Time Zone A time zone is a region that observes the same standard time. Time zones are defined by their offset from… Timesheet A timesheet is a record of the hours an employee or contractor works, typically listing start and end times… Tip Credit A tip credit is a provision in US wage law that allows employers to pay tipped employees a cash wage below… Tip Pooling Tip pooling is an arrangement in which tips received by several workers are combined and then divided among… Title Case Title case is a capitalization style used for titles and headings in which major words are capitalized, while… Title Insurance Title insurance protects against financial loss from problems with a property's ownership history, such as… Token (AI) In AI language models, a token is a small unit of text — often a whole word, part of a word, or a… Total Compensation Total compensation is the full value of everything an employer provides for an employee’s work, including… Total Cost of Ownership Total cost of ownership (TCO) is the full cost of buying and using something over its lifetime, not just its… Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) Total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) is the estimated number of calories the body uses in a day, including… Traditional IRA A traditional IRA is a US individual retirement account in which contributions may be tax-deductible and… Training Data Training data is the collection of examples used to teach a machine learning model — such as text, images… Transformer (AI Model) A transformer is a neural network architecture, introduced in 2017, that processes sequences such as text… Treasury Bill (T-Bill) A Treasury bill (T-bill) is a short-term US government debt security with a maturity of one year or less… Treasury Bond A Treasury bond is a long-term debt security issued by the US government, with a maturity of 20 or 30 years… Trimester A trimester is one of the three periods of about three months into which pregnancy is divided. Counting from…

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