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What these mean →
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.
1038
Terms
67
Lessons
40
Tools
226
Market Pulse
Start Money BasicsRead this week's pulse
Editorially independent · No advertiser influence
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.

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.

66
Figures listed
66
With a linked source
10
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.
The moat

Provable, not just claimed.

We built a finance site where every number is a receipt you can open: its primary source, the date we last checked it, and what it used to be. Most money sites chase traffic and fix their mistakes quietly. We do the opposite, and as far as we know, nothing else in personal finance is built this way. You do not have to trust us. You check us.

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
$7,500
IRA contribution limit (combined Roth + Traditional)
Last checked
Jun 20, 2026
What changed it
IRS annual inflation adjustment (Notice 2025-67)
What it was before
  • $7,0002025
$8,750
$8,750
HSA contribution limit (family HDHP coverage)
Last checked
Jun 20, 2026
$32,200
$32,200
Standard deduction (married filing jointly, surviving spouse)
Last checked
Jun 21, 2026

Figures on this page verified within the last 68 days.

Live · This week's edition
Market Pulse.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2026
This week's edition · 4 min read

The Government Publishes Its Own Corporate Profits Number. It Landed This Morning.

Earnings season produces thousands of company profit figures, each prepared by the company reporting it. The government publishes a separate profits measure covering the whole economy, calculated on its own basis, and it arrives inside the quarterly gross domestic product revision rather than in a release of its own.
4 minreadPrimary sourcesattachedPublishedAUG 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.
IRSSECFEDERAL RESERVEFREDBLSU.S. TREASURYCFPBCENSUS BUREAUFDICHUDFREDDIE MACFANNIE MAEFEDERAL 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.
01
Chapter 01
01
Make a budget that works
The simple framework that beats every spreadsheet.
Budget Builder
5 min
02
Chapter 02
02
Build your emergency fund
Three months is the floor, six months is the goal.
Savings Calculator
7 min
03
Chapter 03
03
Crush high-interest debt
Snowball or Avalanche, picked for your numbers.
Debt Tracker
6 min
04
Chapter 04
04
Set up your 401(k)
Roth or Traditional, decided with your marginal rate.
Roth vs Trad
8 min
05
Chapter 05
05
Start investing
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.
40 TOOLS · UPDATED 2026
Every tool shows you what the decision actually costs in dollars. Not percentages. Not vague ranges. Real numbers on real situations.
New
The Paycheck Decoder
A sample paystub where every line explains itself: gross, taxes, 401(k), HSA, and net. Click any line.
Take-home
68¢
68¢ of every gross $1 reaches this sample take-home. The rest is explained line by line.
Run yours · 3 min
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
New
My Numbers
A net worth, debt, and emergency fund tracker that never sees your money. No account, no bank link.
Data collected
0
0 accounts required · 0 data collected. Your numbers never leave this browser.
Run yours · 5 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
★ Featured
Retirement Reality Check
Monte Carlo simulation that runs your plan against 1,000 market histories. Will your savings actually last?
Stress test
1,000 runs
Your plan run against 1,000 market histories, not one lucky average.
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
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
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
SEE ALL 40 TOOLS →
Browse glossary terms by field
Pick your field.
11 FIELDS · 1038 TERMS
★ Most read
192 terms
Investing
Stocks, funds, bonds, and the mechanics of putting money to work. Clear definitions for the words behind your brokerage account…
Field 02
191
Banking
The accounts, payments, and fees that move your money day to day.…
Field 03
92
Taxes
Deductions, credits, forms, and what the IRS actually wants. The…
Field 04
91
Insurance
Health, auto, life, home, and disability coverage, explained. What…
Field 05
89
Credit & Debt
How borrowing works, what it really costs, and your rights when debt…
Field 06
84
Housing
Buying, financing, and renting a home, from mortgage to lease. The…
Field 07
69
Retirement
Accounts, Social Security, pensions, and passing things on. The words…
Field 08
60
Education
Paying for school, financial aid, and student loans. Plain…
Field 09
58
Behavior
The habits, rules of thumb, and mental traps that shape financial…
Field 10
57
Economy
The big-picture numbers behind the headlines: growth, jobs,…
Field 11
55
Work & Business
Self-employment, side hustles, and running a small business. The tax,…
Most popular terms
MOST CROSS-REFERENCED
01
APR (Annual Percentage Rate)
The yearly cost of borrowing money, expressed as a…
Banking02
Deductible
The amount you pay out of your own pocket for covered care…
Insurance03
Interest rate
The price of borrowing or lending money, expressed as a…
Economy04
Stock
A small slice of ownership in a company that trades on a…
Investing05
Inflation
The rate at which prices rise, meaning your dollar buys…
Economy06
Roth IRA
A retirement account where you pay taxes now, and never pay…
Retirement
SEE ALL 1038 TERMS →
About the founder
Founded by Joseph Citizen, a finance professional with five years across wealth management, private credit, and investor relations, and an MBA candidate at the University of Illinois. He built ClearMoneySchool after years of watching the same pattern: smart, well-paid adults who can't read their own paystub. The mission is to close that gap.