Resources

A plain-language glossary of money terms plus every free NetWorthy calculator, in one place. No signup required.

Glossary

APR (Annual Percentage Rate)
The yearly cost of borrowing, expressed as a percentage that includes interest plus certain required fees.
Cost Basis
The total you paid for a holding, including commissions and fees, and the figure every gain or loss on it is measured against.
Debt Avalanche
A payoff order that sends every extra dollar to the highest-interest debt first, minimizing total interest paid.
Debt Snowball
A payoff order that targets the smallest balance first, trading some extra interest for an early, visible win.
Emergency Fund
Cash set aside strictly for unplanned expenses, kept liquid and separate so a bad month does not become new debt.
Envelope Budgeting
A budgeting method that assigns every dollar to a named category up front, so spending is checked against a plan rather than a balance.
Expense Ratio
The annual percentage a fund charges to run itself, taken out of the fund's value rather than billed to you.
Money-Weighted Return
The annualized rate your own contributions actually earned, counting when each one went in — the return you got, as distinct from the return the investment got.
Net Worth
Everything you own minus everything you owe, measured on a fixed cadence so the trend rather than the number carries the information.
Time-Weighted Return
The return an investment earned with the timing and size of deposits divided out — the figure that can fairly be compared against an index.
Unrealized Gain
The difference between what a holding is worth today and what it cost, while you still own it and before any sale locks it in.
Yield on Cost
The income a position paid over the last year measured against what you originally paid for it, rather than against what it is worth today.

Free calculators