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glossary of terms
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Choose a letter:
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C
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calendar month the months on the calendar eg January, February etc. The calendar months are generally longer than 4 weeks.
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capital the amount of money you originally save or invest, before any interest, other return or loss is taken into account. It could also be an amount of money that you have borrowed.
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cash card/cash machine card a card that lets you use a cash machine (ATM or hole-in-the-wall) to withdraw money, check your balance or print a mini-statement.
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cashflow a record of all the money coming into the business less all the payments as they are made, measured over a particular time.
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cash inflow the receipts of your business. If your receipts are bigger than your payments, you have a net cash inflow.
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cash outflow payments out of your business. If your receipts are less than your payments, you have a net cash outflow.
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catalogue goods are shown in the pages of the catalogue. You can buy them on credit and pay in weekly or monthly instalments. The goods will usually be delivered by post. The price of the goods in the catalogue may be more than the price in a shop.
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cheque a written instruction to a bank. It can be used to pay you money. You can write out cheques to yourself to get money out of your account or to pay other people, if you have your own chequebook with your current account.
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cheque guarantee card a plastic card that is issued by a bank or building society and guarantees that the amount of money on any cheque you write will be paid whether or not there is enough money in the account. There is a limit to the amount that is guaranteed - £100 or £250 are common amounts.
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charges fees and interest which you have to pay, for example, when you borrow money or buy on credit.
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Child Trust Fund a government proposal to give every new-born child a sum paid into a special account. On reaching 18 the child would be able to withdraw the money which should have grown in value.
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Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) a local office where you can get help with a range of problems including your finances or debts. To find your local CAB look in Yellow Pages or ask at the library.
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clearing clearing is the time between paying cash or a cheque into your bank account and the money being available to spend or withdraw.
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compound interest interest rates are usually compounded - so the amount paid on savings is based on the capital plus the interest paid so far (provided you have not taken anything out of the account). This also works for loans - so the amount you owe can increase dramatically over quite a small time.
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consumer when you buy something you are a consumer.
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Council Tax tax paid to the local council for local services. For example, libraries, police, local roads etc.
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credit an account that is 'in credit' means that there is some money in it that is available to be spent. If you obtain goods or services 'on credit' it means that someone (for example, a bank or credit institution) has given you the money to make the purchase - they have credited you with the money. You must pay the money back. If you do not pay your credit card on time or have a history of not paying back other loans, this will be shown on your file held by a credit reference agency. When shops or banks check your creditworthiness and see this information has been listed, you may find it very difficult to get a loan.
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credit card a plastic card issued by a bank or building society that allows you to make purchases now and pay for them later. Credit will be made available to you to buy the goods. Every month the bank or building society will send you a statement of your account. You must pay back at least a minimum amount each month and interest will be charged if you do not pay off the full amount borrowed.
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credit limit the maximum amount the store card or credit company will lend you altogether at any time.
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credit reference agency an agency that holds information on adults. This information includes public records (eg Electoral Roll entries), credit account information (eg repayment records for loans, credit, mortgage, hire purchase) and records of credit checks that have previously been made.
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credit record your details held by a credit reference agency. It will include whether you appear on the Electoral Roll, your name and address from the Electoral Roll, how you have handled previous credit, and any other credit checks made about you.
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credit risk the chance that you might not repay your loan or credit.
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credit score a score given by a shop or credit agency to you based on your personal and financial circumstances. It helps them to decide whether you are likely to repay the loan you are asking for.
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Credit Union a non-profit making co-operative savings association that makes loans to its members at low interest and encourages saving.
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creditor a person you owe money to.
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current account a bank or building society account which helps you to manage your money, pay bills, receive money and keep money secure. It will have more services than a basic bank account, for example, you will get a cheque book.
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