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the money dictionary

every word you've been nodding along to, explained like you're 5 — one page each, no shame, 20 seconds a word.

save CD you lend a bank money for a set time. it pays you a locked-in rate. touching it early costs you. read it → invest bond a loan you make to a government or a company. they pay you interest, then pay you back. read it → invest mutual fund one basket holding many investments. you buy a share of the basket instead of buying each thing. read it → invest ETF the same idea as a mutual fund, in a wrapper that trades like a stock all day long. read it → home PMI insurance you pay for that protects the bank, not you. the toll for putting down less than 20%. read it → save emergency fund money whose only job is "just in case." boring name, life-changing effect. read it → invest roth ira a retirement account where you pay taxes now so future-you pays zero. read it → invest index fund instead of betting on one company, you buy a tiny slice of all of them at once. read it → save savings account a bank account that pays you to park cash. the regular kind pays crumbs — the high-yield kind (hysa) pays real money. read it → borrow apr vs apy apr is what borrowing costs you. apy is what saving earns you. same letters, opposite teams. read it → borrow credit score your financial gpa. banks check it before trusting you. yes, you can raise it. read it → work vesting your job promised you stock or 401(k) match — vesting is the waiting period before it’s actually yours. read it → legal escrow a neutral third party holds the money until everyone does what they promised. read it → legal prenup a "who keeps what" agreement you sign before marriage. reading the terms & conditions of love. read it → legal postnup same idea as a prenup, but you sign it after you’re already married. yes, that’s allowed. read it →