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employee contributions

A company-sponsored retirement plan where employees may elect to have a portion of each paycheck deposited into a retirement account owned by the employee and held in his or her name.

credit worthiness

An assessment of the likelihood that a borrower will default on his or her debt obligations. It is based upon factors, such as his/her history of repayment and credit score.

SEC

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is a government commission created by Congress to regulate the securities markets and protect investors SEC founded in 1930. In addition to regulation and protection, it also monitors the corporate takeovers in the U.S.

stock fund

a fund that invests in stocks, also called equity securities; has an array of stocks . Stock funds can be contrasted with bond funds and money funds. Fund assets are typically mainly in stock, with some amount of cash, which is generally quite small, as opposed to bonds, notes, or other securities.

accountants

a person whose job is to keep or inspect financial accounts.

financial planners

a qualified investment professional who helps individuals and corporations meet their long-term financial objectives by analyzing the client's status and setting a program to achieve that client's goals.

balance sheet

a statement of the assets, liabilities, and capital of a business or other organization at a particular point in time, detailing the balance of income and expenditure over the preceding period.

stock symbol

an abbreviation used to uniquely identify publicly traded shares of a particular stock on a particular stock market. A stock symbol may consist of letters, numbers or a combination of both.

down payment

an initial payment made when something is bought on credit for a very expensive item.

CPI- "market basket"

measures if prices went up or down; a permanent set of goods and services that are bought and sold as staples in a functional economy. Analysts and policymakers use average price changes in a market basket as the primary gauge of inflation.

FIXED mortgage

fifteen or thirty year mortgage referred to as a "vanilla wafer" mortgage loan, is a fully amortizing mortgage loan where the interest rate on the note remains the same through the term of the loan, as opposed to loans where the interest rate may adjust or "float".

stock exchanges

he level of prices in the stock market.

speculating

invest in stocks, property, or other ventures in the hope of gain but with the risk of loss.

impulse buying

the buying of goods without planning to do so in advance, as a result of a sudden whim or impulse.

assets

property owesned by a person or company, regarded as having value and available to meet debts, commitments, or legacies. minus liabiliti