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Finance Keywords Explained
Navigating the world of finance can feel overwhelming. Here’s a breakdown of some essential terms to get you started:
Investing
- Assets: Anything of economic value that an individual, company, or organization owns or controls with the expectation that it will provide future benefit. Examples include cash, stocks, bonds, real estate, and equipment.
- Stocks: Represent a share of ownership in a company. Stockholders have a claim on a portion of the corporation’s assets and earnings.
- Bonds: A debt instrument issued by corporations or governments to raise capital. When you buy a bond, you are essentially lending money to the issuer.
- Mutual Funds: A portfolio of stocks, bonds, or other assets managed by a professional fund manager. They allow investors to diversify their holdings easily.
- Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs): Similar to mutual funds but trade on stock exchanges like individual stocks. They offer diversification and typically have lower expense ratios than actively managed mutual funds.
- Diversification: Spreading investments across different asset classes (stocks, bonds, real estate) to reduce risk.
- Risk Tolerance: An individual’s capacity and willingness to lose money on an investment.
- Return on Investment (ROI): A performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency of an investment or compare the efficiency of a number of different investments.
Personal Finance
- Budget: A plan for how to spend your money. It helps you track income and expenses and identify areas where you can save.
- Credit Score: A numerical representation of your creditworthiness, based on your payment history and other factors. A higher score makes it easier to borrow money.
- Debt: Money owed to another person or entity. Managing debt responsibly is crucial for financial health.
- Interest Rate: The cost of borrowing money, expressed as a percentage of the principal amount.
- Compound Interest: Interest earned not only on the principal amount but also on accumulated interest. It’s a powerful tool for wealth building.
- Mortgage: A loan used to purchase real estate.
- Inflation: The rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services is rising, and consequently, the purchasing power of currency is falling.
Business Finance
- Revenue: The income generated from normal business operations.
- Profit: The financial benefit realized when revenue exceeds the costs, expenses, and taxes involved in sustaining the activity in question.
- Cash Flow: The movement of money into and out of a business. Positive cash flow is essential for solvency.
- Financial Statements: Reports that summarize a company’s financial performance, including the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement.
- Equity: Ownership in a company. Also refers to the value of assets minus liabilities.
This is just a starting point. Continual learning and research are key to developing strong financial literacy.
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