Plain-English definitions for the terms you'll encounter on your financial journey.
A simple budgeting guideline that suggests spending 50% of your income on needs, 30% on wants, and 20% on savings.
A financial plan where total expected income equals total expected expenses for a specific period.
A plan for spending and saving income over a specific period, used to track where money is going.
A situation where the amount of expenses exceeds the amount of income within a set timeframe.
A situation where the amount of income exceeds the amount of expenses within a set timeframe.
A service that helps individuals manage their debt through education, budgeting, and debt management plans.
The portion of the government budget that is decided upon by Congress through annual appropriations bills.
A budgeting technique where you use physical envelopes filled with cash for different spending categories to prevent overspending.
The process of recording all of your daily expenditures to see how they align with your budget.
The total amount of money that a country's government has borrowed from various sources. It represents the accumulation of annual budget deficits over time.
An amount of money remaining after all expenses have been met within a specific budget period.
A method of budgeting where every dollar of your income is assigned a specific purpose, leaving you with a balance of zero at the end of the month.