Financial Glossary
Plain-language explanations of terms used across ThinkCalculator's finance calculators and learning resources.
- CAGR
- CAGR, or compound annual growth rate, is the constant annual rate that connects a beginning value to an ending value over a period.
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- Compounding
- Compounding is growth calculated on an amount that can include previously added interest or returns.
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- EMI
- EMI, or equated monthly instalment, is a scheduled monthly loan payment containing principal and interest.
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- Gratuity
- Gratuity is a statutory employment benefit that may become payable when qualifying employment ends, commonly calculated from last-drawn eligible wages and completed service.
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- GST
- GST, or Goods and Services Tax, is an indirect-tax framework; a GST calculation relates an exclusive taxable value, a tax amount, and an inclusive value at an entered rate.
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- Inflation
- Inflation is the rate at which the general price level rises over time, reducing what a fixed amount of money can buy.
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- Interest Rate
- An interest rate is the percentage used to calculate the cost of borrowing or the growth of eligible savings over a stated period.
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- PPF
- PPF, or Public Provident Fund, is a Central Government-regulated small-savings scheme with official deposit, interest, maturity, and extension rules.
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- Principal
- Principal is the original amount borrowed or invested, before interest, returns, fees, or repayments are applied.
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- Retirement Corpus
- A retirement corpus is the total savings a person has built up by retirement, projected to be drawn down through regular withdrawals over the remaining retirement years.
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- SIP
- A SIP, or systematic investment plan, is a pattern of investing a chosen amount at regular intervals.
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- Step-up SIP
- A Step-up SIP is a monthly investment plan whose contribution increases after each completed block of 12 contributions by a selected percentage or fixed amount.
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- SWP
- An SWP, or Systematic Withdrawal Plan, is a pattern of withdrawing a fixed amount from an existing investment at regular intervals while the remaining balance stays invested.
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- Tenure
- Tenure is the agreed or selected length of time for a loan, deposit, or investment calculation.
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