The dictionary of finance

Money, decoded.

Plain-English terms, free lessons with working interactives, money tools that show the real cost, and a Market Pulse with primary-source receipts. Built for adults who were never taught this stuff.

1036

Terms

Lessons

Tools

170

Market Pulse

Start Money Basics Read this week's pulse

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Education only. ClearMoneySchool does not provide individualized investment, tax, or legal advice.

One of a kind

Decode it two ways.

Wondering something? Ask The Decoder.

Ask about any money term. Plain-English answer, straight from our glossary, with a receipt: the source entry and the date its figures were last verified. It will never tell you what to do with your money. That's the point.

The Decoderby ClearMoneySchool

Plain-English answers from our glossary. Receipts included. Never advice.

Educational tool. Answers come only from ClearMoneySchool's published glossary and are not advice. Why we never give advice

How The Decoder works

Reading something? Decode the fine print.

The Jargon Translator finds the finance terms in any article, report, or disclosure and defines them in plain English. It runs on your device. Nothing you paste is uploaded.

A fund's fine print, decoded

The fund reports its net asset value daily and charges an expense ratio quoted in basis points.

Net Asset Value

Net asset value (NAV) is the per-share price of a fund, found by taking everything it owns minus what it…

Expense ratio

The annual percentage a fund keeps to run itself, paid silently out of your returns.

Basis Point

A basis point is one one-hundredth of a percent (0.01%), the unit used to describe small changes in interest…

Try it with what you're reading

The tool and the proof

The math, and the receipts behind it.

Run the real cost of any everyday spend on the left. On the right, every number we publish, with its primary source and the date we checked it.

ClearMoneySchool

What is the real cost?

A recurring spend, seen over a working life, if it were invested instead. We show the math. What you do with it is yours.

Amount$

How often

Years30

If invested at

illustrative assumption

$261,267

the real cost over 30 years, if invested instead

You would spend

$76,650

It could become

$261,267

Your inputs stay in your browser. Nothing here is stored on a server or sent anywhere. Saved scenarios use local storage on this device only.

Open the full Real Cost tool →

Every number, sourced

The Source Ledger

The receipts behind every number in this ledger. Each figure here is read live from our reference data, traced to the primary source that issued it (IRS, CMS, FDIC, FHFA), with the exact date we last checked it. Primary sources first, no ‘studies show,’ no numbers pulled from memory. If a figure ever changes or we get one wrong, the correction is logged in public on our errata page. Click any row to see its source.

Figures listed

With a linked source

Primary sources

100% traceable to a primary source (66 of 66 sourced)

See all sources →live from the registry

What we built

Standards you can audit yourself.

Every way to check our work, not take it on faith.

Standard 01The Real Cost MethodEvery financial concept paired with what it actually costs in dollars. A 24% APR isn't a percentage, it's $720 a year on a $3,000 balance.Run the numbers Standard 02Primary-source ReceiptsEvery number in our Source Ledger traces to the IRS, the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, or an official filing. We link the receipt and let you verify. We don't say “studies show.”See the ledger Standard 03Public ErrataEvery correction logged publicly, with the date, the reason, and the change. Other money sites quietly edit. We show the work.Read the corrections Standard 04Plain English StandardA published banned-words list. No “leverage” as a verb, no hype, no motivational-poster cliches. Plain English for adults who were never taught this.See the method Standard 05The Living ReceiptEvery tracked figure shows its source, when we last checked it, and what it used to be. Tap any number and check our work.See the receipts Standard 06What changedWhen a law or an IRS document changes a figure we cite, we log it: what changed, the governing document, and the pages of ours that updated.Track the changes Standard 07Receipt EmbedsOur verified figures, on anyone's site. Copy one iframe and the figure stays current with ours.Get an embed Standard 08Verified AnswersReal money questions, answered in about three sentences, every figure a receipt you can open.Read the answers Standard 09The Jargon TranslatorReading financial news or fine print? Paste the paragraph. We decode the terms we can verify, on your device, nothing uploaded.Decode the jargon Standard 10The Stale CheckCheck any money figure against our verified registry: current, superseded, or not tracked.Check a figure

Tap any figure:

$7,500

IRA contribution limit (combined Roth + Traditional)

Last checked: Jun 20, 2026
Source: 401(k) limit increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA limit increases to $7,500
What changed it: IRS annual inflation adjustment (Notice 2025-67)
What it was before: $7,0002025

$8,750

HSA contribution limit (family HDHP coverage)

Last checked: Jun 20, 2026
Source: Revenue Procedure 2025-19 (HSA inflation-adjusted amounts for 2026)

$32,200

Standard deduction (married filing jointly, surviving spouse)

Last checked: Jun 21, 2026
Source: IRS releases tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2026

Figures on this page verified within the last 36 days.

Live · This week's edition

Market Pulse.

SUNDAY, JULY 26, 2026

This week's edition · 4 min read

Four of the Biggest Companies on Earth Report This Week. They Will Be Judged on One Number.

This is the busiest week of earnings season. Microsoft, Meta, Apple, and Amazon all report, the Federal Reserve decides on interest rates, and two major inflation and growth readings land. After Alphabet reported a record profit last week and its stock fell anyway, the market has made clear what it is grading. Here is the one question every report faces.

4 minreadPrimary sourcesattachedPublishedJUL 26

Receipts attached

FREDFOMC STATEMENTTREASURY+ PRIMARY SOURCES

Read this week's pulse

Institutions we cite

The institutions we cite.

Every claim on this site traces back to a primary source you can verify yourself. No "studies show." No anonymous experts.

IRS SEC FEDERAL RESERVE FRED BLS U.S. TREASURY CFPB CENSUS BUREAU FDIC HUD FREDDIE MAC FANNIE MAE FEDERAL STUDENT AID

Market Pulse articles link their receipts. Glossary figures are sourced to a primary document, or flagged as illustrative.

Money Basics · Start here

The five things no one taught you.

A free starter path for total beginners. Every chapter pairs a lesson with a working interactive.

Chapter 01

Make a budget that works

The simple framework that beats every spreadsheet.

Budget Builder

5 min

Chapter 02

Build your emergency fund

Three months is the floor, six months is the goal.

Savings Calculator

7 min

Chapter 03

Crush high-interest debt

Snowball or Avalanche, picked for your numbers.

Roth or Traditional, decided with your marginal rate.

Index funds in plain English. Real expense ratios.

Index Fund Sim

10 min

Brand new here?

Begin with Chapter 01. Five chapters, every concept paired with a working interactive.

Begin Chapter 01

Money Tools · The Real Cost Method

Do the actual math.

37 TOOLS · UPDATED 2026

Every tool shows you what the decision actually costs in dollars. Not percentages. Not vague ranges. Real numbers on real situations.

Most used

Take-home pay

Salary in, every deduction broken down, real take-home out.

Real Cost

$232/paycheck

Same $85K job. CA charges $6,032 more in state tax than TX.

Run yours · 3 min

Featured

Compound interest

Starting age, monthly amount, return. See the full 40 years.

Real Cost

$600,000

$500/mo at 6.5%. Starting at 25 vs 35 to retirement.

Run yours · 2 min

Popular

Buy vs rent

Full math: property taxes, opportunity cost, maintenance, all of it.

Real Cost

$38,000

$420K home, 7 years. In many scenarios, renting wins.

Run yours · 5 min

Featured

Debt payoff race

Snowball vs Avalanche on your real debts. Which actually wins.

Real Cost

$1,400

$18K split across 3 cards. Avalanche saves $1,400 vs Snowball.

Run yours · 4 min

New

Mortgage calculator

Principal, interest, taxes, insurance. PMI included.

Real Cost

$269,000

$380K loan at 6.5%. Extra interest on 30-year vs 15-year.

Run yours · 3 min

★ Featured

Retirement Reality Check

Monte Carlo simulation that runs your plan against 1,000 market histories. Will your savings actually last?

Run yours · 5 min

Featured

Tax bracket calculator

Federal + state. Marginal vs effective rate, decoded.

Real Cost

9.1%

$92K single. Most guess 22%. The real effective rate is 12.9%.

Run yours · 2 min

✦ New

The 18th Birthday Reveal

What $50/month from birth becomes by 18. The gift gap.

Real Cost

$21,500

Start at birth vs age 10 = $15,100 gap. Same $50/month.

Run yours · 5 min

SEE ALL 37 TOOLS →

Browse glossary terms by field

Pick your field.

11 FIELDS · 1036 TERMS

★ Most read

191 terms

Banking

The accounts, payments, and fees that move your money day to day. These are the words on your statements, your checks, and your…

Field 02

190

Investing

Stocks, funds, bonds, and the mechanics of putting money to work.…

Field 03

Taxes

Deductions, credits, forms, and what the IRS actually wants. The…

Field 04

Insurance

Health, auto, life, home, and disability coverage, explained. What…

Field 05

Credit & Debt

How borrowing works, what it really costs, and your rights when debt…

Field 06

Housing

Buying, financing, and renting a home, from mortgage to lease. The…

Field 07

Retirement

Accounts, Social Security, pensions, and passing things on. The words…

Field 08

Education

Paying for school, financial aid, and student loans. Plain…

Field 09

Behavior

The habits, rules of thumb, and mental traps that shape financial…

Field 10

Economy

The big-picture numbers behind the headlines: growth, jobs,…

Field 11

Work & Business

Self-employment, side hustles, and running a small business. The tax,…

Money, decoded.

Decode it two ways.

Wondering something? Ask The Decoder.

Reading something? Decode the fine print.

The math, and the receipts behind it.

What is the real cost?

The Source Ledger

Standards you can audit yourself.

Provable, not just claimed.

Four of the Biggest Companies on Earth Report This Week. They Will Be Judged on One Number.

The five things no one taught you.