Personal Finance terms starting with D

122 terms

Daily balance method with compounding According to this method, we calculate the interest charges for each balance by applying the “daily periodic rate” for that balance to the “daily…
Daily balance method without compounding According to this method, we calculate the interest charges for each balance by applying the “daily periodic rate” for that balance to the “daily…
Daily periodic rate (DPR) DPR stands for “Daily Periodic Rate.” This is a daily interest rate. The daily periodic rate or DPR for a given balance is equal to the APR on that…
Daily trading limit The daily trading limit is the most that the price of a futures contract can rise or fall in a single session before trading in that contract is stopped…
Date of maturity The date of maturity, or maturity date, is the day on which a bond's term ends, and its issuer repays the principal and makes the final interest payment.
Day order An order to buy or sell a security valid only for a limited period, normally less than a day.
Day trader When you continuously buy and sell investments within a very short time, perhaps a few minutes or hours, and rarely hold them overnight, you're considered…
Dealer Dealers, or principals, buy and sell securities for their own accounts, adding liquidity to the marketplace and seeking to profit from the spread between…
Dealer Sticker Price Dealer Sticker Price, usually on a supplemental sticker, is the Monroney sticker price plus the suggested retail price of dealer-installed options, such…
Death benefit A death benefit is money your beneficiary collects from your life insurance policy if you die while the policy is still in force.
Debarment Disqualification of a firm or individual from contracting with the government or participating in government non-procurement transactions for a specific…
Debenture A debenture is an unsecured bond. Most bonds issued by corporations are debentures, which are backed by its reputation rather than by any collateral, such…
Debit A debit may be an account entry representing money you owe a lender or money that has been taken from your deposit account.
Debit balance A debit balance is what you owe. It's entered as accounts receivable on the books of the lender and appears on your account statement as a liability.
Debit Card A debit card allows the account owner to access their funds electronically. Debit cards may be used to obtain cash from automated teller machines or…
Debt An obligation to repay a sum of principal, plus interest. In corporate terms, debt often refers to bonds or similar securities.
Debt cancellation coverage Cancels your debt if you become unemployed, disabled, or meet other criteria covered by your contract.
Debt Collector Any person who regularly collects debts owed to others.
Debt Elimination Scheme A debt elimination scheme is a plan that is advertised as a way for an individual to eliminate various types of debt simply by paying someone a small fee…
Debt Security Debt securities are interest-paying bonds, notes, bills, or money market instruments that are issued by governments or corporations.
Debt suspension coverage Stops your payments during periods of unemployment, disability, or other situations covered by your contract.
Debt-to-equity ratio A company's debt-to-equity ratio indicates the extent to which the company is leveraged, or financed by credit.
Debt-to-income (DTI) a comparison or ratio of gross income to housing and other expenses or debts the homeowner owes.
Debt-to-Income Ratio A measure of creditworthiness computed by dividing the dollar amount of monthly debts by total gross monthly income, then converting the result to a…
Debt-to-Income Ratio (DTI) The percentage of a consumer's monthly gross income that goes toward paying debts. Generally, the higher the ratio, the higher the perceived risk.
Debtor Someone who owes monies to another party.
Decedent A deceased person, ordinarily used with respect to one who has died recently.
Decimal pricing US stocks, derivatives linked to stocks, and some bonds trade in decimals, or dollars and cents.
Decliner Stocks that have dropped, or fallen, in value over a particular period are described as decliners.
Decreasing term insurance With a decreasing term life insurance policy, the amount of the death benefit decreases each year of the fixed term - such as 20 years - although the…
Deductible The dollar amount you must pay out-of-pocket for each claim before the insurance company begins paying.
Deduction A deduction is an amount you can subtract from your gross income or adjusted gross income to lower your taxable income when you file your income tax…
Deed A deed is a written document that transfers ownership of land or other real estate from the owner, also known as the grantor, to the buyer, or grantee.
Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure the process by which a homeowner may voluntarily transfer the deed to a home to the servicer when payments cannot be made.
Deep discount bond Deep discount bonds are originally issued with a par value, or face value, of $1,000.
Deep discount brokerage firm A financial services company that offers rock-bottom rates for large-volume securities transactions is sometimes described as a deep discount firm.
Default Default occurs when a debtor is unable to meet the legal obligation of debt repayment, one form of which is the failure to promptly pay interest or…
Default APR See penalty APR.
Defensive security Defensive securities tend to remain more stable in value than the overall market, especially when prices in general are falling.
Deferred Annuity A deferred annuity contract allows you to accumulate tax-deferred earnings during the term of the contract and sometimes add assets to your contract over…
Deferred Payment A payment postponed until a future date.
Deferred Payments loan payments that are authorized to be postponed as part of a workout process to avoid foreclosure.
deficit The result of the government taking in less money than it spends.
Defined Benefit Pension Plan A pension plan by which an employer holds and invests pooled funds for all participating employees together, and the employer guarantees a fixed amount of…
Defined Benefit Plan A defined benefit plan - popularly known as a pension - provides a specific benefit for retired employees, either as a lump sum or as income for the rest…
Defined Contribution Pension Plan A pension plan by which an employer or its agent maintains a separate account for each participating employee.
Defined Contribution Plan In a defined contribution retirement plan, the benefits - that is, what you can expect to accumulate and ultimately withdraw from the plan - are not…
Deflation A condition of decreasing prices. Deflation is generally measured by the Consumer Price Index.
Delinquency A debt that was not paid when due.
Delivery date The delivery date, also known as the settlement date, is the day on which a stock, option, or bond trade must be settled, or finalized.
Delta The relationship between an option's price and the price of the underlying stock or futures contract is called its delta.
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) VA will insure certain government mortgages that are provided to Veterans of the U.S.
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) mortgage Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) mortgages enable qualifying veterans or their surviving spouses to borrow up to the annual federal limit in order to…
dependency exemption Amount that taxpayers can claim for a "qualifying child" or "qualifying relative". Each exemption reduces the income subject to tax.
Dependent A qualifying child or qualifying relative, other than the taxpayer or spouse, who entitles the taxpayer to claim a dependency exemption.
Dependent Child When used with respect to any reporting individual, a son, daughter, stepson, or stepdaughter who -- (1) Is unmarried and under age 21 and is living in…
Deposit Slip An itemized memorandum of the cash and other funds that a customer presents to the bank for credit to his or her account.
Depositary bank A US bank that holds American depositary shares (ADSs), or shares of corporations based outside the United States, and sells American depositary receipts…
Depository Institution A financial institution that makes loans and obtains its funds mainly through accepting deposits from the public; includes commercial banks, savings and…
Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) The DTCC is the world's largest securities depository, holding trillions of dollars in assets for the members of the financial industry that own the…
Depreciation The act of lowering an item´s value due to use or wear and tear.
Depression A depression is a severe and prolonged downturn in the economy. Prices fall, reducing purchasing power.
Derivative Derivatives are financial products, such as futures contracts, options, and mortgage-backed securities.
Derogatory Information Data received by a creditor indicating that a credit applicant has not paid his or her accounts with other creditors according to the required terms.
Designated Agency Ethics Official (DAEO) The primary officer or employee designated by the head of an agency to administer the provisions of title I of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 and 5…
Devaluation Devaluation is a deliberate decision by a government or central bank to reduce the value of its own currency in relation to the currencies of other…
DIAMONDs A DIAMOND is an index-based unit investment trust (UIT) that holds the 30 stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA).
Diluted earnings per share In addition to reporting earnings per share, corporations must report diluted earnings per share.
Dilution Dilution occurs when a company issues additional shares of stock, and as a result the earnings per share and the book value per share decline.
Direct Deposit A payment that is electronically deposited into an individual's account at a depository institution.
Direct Dispute A dispute submitted directly to the furnisher about the accuracy of information in your consumer report that relates to an account or other relationship…
Direct investment Investment in which a resident of one country obtains a lasting interest in, and a degree of influence over, the management of a business enterprise in…
Direct purchase plan (DPP) Some publicly held companies offer a direct purchase plan that lets you purchase their stock directly without using a broker.
Direct Rollover The taxable portion of a retirement plan distribution (refund) may be eligible for a tax-deferred rollover to an IRA, a 401(k) plan, a 401(a) plan, a…
direct tax A tax that cannot be shifted to others, such as the federal income tax.
Disability Determination Provider This provider evaluates the Retirement Systems’ disability claims and submits a recommendation to the Retirement Systems’ Medical Board.
Disability Retirement A retirement annuity under a defined benefit plan for active contributing members of the Retirement Systems who become disabled and whose disability is…
disclosure A disclosure document explains how a financial product or offering works. It also details the terms to which you must agree in order to buy it or use it…
Disclosures Certain information that Federal and State laws require creditors to give to borrowers relative to the terms of the credit extended.
Disclosures (Credit) Certain information that federal and state laws require creditors to give to borrowers relative to the terms of the credit extended.
Disclosures (Deposit) Certain information that federal and state laws require depository financial institutions give to depositors relative to the terms of the deposit account.
Discount When bonds sell for less than their face value, they are said to be selling at a discount.
Discount brokerage firm Discount brokerage firms charge lower commissions than full-service brokerage firms when they execute investors' buy and sell orders but may provide fewer…
Discount Point Some lenders require you to prepay a portion of the interest due on your mortgage as a condition of approving the loan.
Discount Points Amount paid to the lender by the borrower or seller to decrease or "buy down" the borrower's interest rate.
Discount rate The discount rate is the interest rate the Federal Reserve charges on loans it makes to banks and other financial institutions.
Discretionary account A discretionary account is a type of brokerage account in which clients authorize their brokers to buy and sell securities on their behalf without prior…
Disinflation Disinflation is a slowdown in the rate of price increases that historically occurs during a recession, when the supply of goods is greater than the demand…
Dispute resolution Dispute resolution - sometimes called alternative dispute resolution - refers to methods of resolving conflicts between parties or individuals that…
Distribution The sale of securities. Also refers to a sum payable to shareholders representing their share of profits.
Diversification The investment in a number of different securities. To reduce the risk of loss inherent in investing.
Diversified Mutual Fund This is a mutual fund that does not have a stated policy of concentrating its investments in one industry, business, single country other than the U.S.
Dividend See Dividends
Dividend payout ratio You can calculate a dividend payout ratio by dividing the dividend a company pays per share by the company's earnings per share.
Dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP) Many publicly held companies allow shareholders to reinvest dividends in company stock or buy additional shares through dividend reinvestment plans, or…
Dividend yield If you own dividend-paying stocks, you figure the current dividend yield on your investment by dividing the dividend being paid on each share by the…
Dividends Payments in cash or other assets, excluding the corporation's own stock, made by corporations located in the United States and abroad to stockholders who…
Divorce Decree legal ruling by a court which, among other things, assigns obligations for the payment of various debts.
Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Signed by President Barack Obama in 2010, the act is intended to promote the financial stability of the United States by improving accountability and…
Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank Act) Legislation intended to promote the financial stability of the United States by improving accountability and transparency in the financial system, end…