Financial Literacy Glossary

All the key words from our curriculum, explained in plain language. Terms are listed alphabetically. The Introduced column shows where each word first appears.

---

Term	Definition	Introduced
Balance	The amount of money currently in a bank account. Your balance goes up when you deposit and down when you withdraw.	Week 12
Bank	A place (or company) that keeps your money safe and may pay you interest for storing it there.	Week 12
Barter	Trading one thing directly for another without using money.	Week 2
Budget	A plan for how you will use your money over a period of time. A budget helps you make sure you have enough for what matters most.	Week 10
Buffer	Extra money set aside to absorb surprise costs — like a financial cushion that keeps your budget from breaking when something unexpected happens.	Week 11
Buying power	See Purchasing power.	Week 14
Consumer	A person who buys or uses goods and services.	Week 8
Credit card	A card that lets you buy things now and pay for them later. You usually owe interest if you do not pay the full amount on time.	Week 6
Currency	The type of money used in a country or community — like dollars, euros, or pesos.	Week 3
Debit card	A card that takes money directly out of your bank account when you use it.	Week 6
Deposit	Putting money into a bank account.	Week 12
Digital payment	Paying for something using a phone, computer, or card instead of cash.	Week 7
Emergency fund	Money you set aside for unexpected expenses — things you did not plan for but need to handle right away.	Week 11
Entrepreneur	A person who starts a project or business to solve a problem or create something valuable.	Week 15
Expense	Money you spend. Expenses can be needs (things you must have) or wants (things you would like to have).	Week 5
Fixed expense	A cost that stays about the same every month, like rent or a phone bill. Fixed expenses are hard to change quickly.	Week 4
Flexible expense	A cost that can go up or down depending on your choices, like food, entertainment, or clothing. Flexible expenses are easier to adjust.	Week 4
Friction	Anything that slows you down before you spend money. Friction gives you time to think about whether a purchase is a good idea.	Week 8
Goods	Physical things you can buy, like food, toys, or books.	Week 2
Income	Money that comes in — from work, gifts, allowances, or other sources.	Week 5
Inflation	When prices go up over time, so the same amount of money buys less than it used to.	Week 14
Interest (borrowing)	Extra money you owe when you borrow. It is the cost of using someone else's money.	Week 13
Interest (saving)	Extra money a bank pays you for keeping your money there. It is a reward for saving.	Week 13
Ledger	A written record of money going in and out of an account. Banks use ledgers to track every deposit and withdrawal.	Week 12
Mobile payment	Paying using a phone app, like tapping your phone at a store.	Week 7
Needs	Things you must have to be safe, healthy, and able to live — like food, shelter, and clothing.	Week 4
Opportunity cost	The value of the next-best option you give up when you make a choice. If you spend $10 on a book, the opportunity cost is the best other thing you could have done with that $10.	Week 9
Pitch	A short, clear explanation of your project or idea designed to get other people interested.	Week 18
Price	The amount of money you need to pay to buy something.	Week 3
Profit	The money left over after you subtract your costs from your revenue. Profit = Revenue − Costs.	Week 17
Prototype	An early version of a product or idea that you build to test whether it works.	Week 16
Purchasing power	How much you can actually buy with your money. When prices go up (inflation), your purchasing power goes down even if you have the same amount of money. Also called buying power.	Week 14
Revenue	The total money that comes in from selling a product or service, before subtracting costs.	Week 17
Risk	The chance that something unexpected or bad could happen, especially something that costs money.	Week 11
Savings	Money you keep and do not spend right away. Saving helps you afford bigger things later and prepares you for emergencies.	Week 10
Services	Work that people do for others, like tutoring, haircuts, or fixing a bike.	Week 2
Trade	Exchanging something you have for something someone else has.	Week 2
Transaction	Any exchange of money for goods or services — buying, selling, depositing, or withdrawing.	Week 6
Tradeoff	Giving up one thing in order to get another. Every choice involves a tradeoff.	Week 9
Value	How much something is worth to a person. Value can be different for different people and can change over time.	Week 1
Wants	Things you would like to have but do not need to survive — like toys, games, or treats.	Week 4
Withdrawal	Taking money out of a bank account.	Week 12