budgetA written plan for spending and saving over a set time. A budget is often made for one month or one year.
discountMoney a seller subtracts from the regular price. At 20 percent off, a $40 jacket has a discount of $8.
expenseSomething that money is spent on; a cost. Rent, groceries and a bus fare are all expenses.
incomeMoney a person earns or receives. Wages, tips, interest and gifts all count as income.
interestThe cost of using borrowed money for a time. Borrowing $100 for a year and paying back $108 means $8 of interest.
percentA part of a whole counted in hundredths. It is short for the Latin per centum, by a hundred. One half is 50 percent and one quarter is 25 percent.
principalThe amount on which interest is worked out. When $8 of interest is paid on $100 borrowed, the $100 is the principal.
sale priceWhat an item costs once the reduction is taken off. A $40 jacket with $8 off has a sale price of $32.
sales taxA charge on a purchase that goes to the government. At a rate of 6 percent, the tax on a $50 purchase is $3. In the United States the states set it; there is no national one.
tipA sum added to a bill to reward good service. A 15 percent tip on a $40 meal is $6.
total costEverything a purchase comes to, with all charges added. A $50 purchase with $3 of sales tax has a total cost of $53.
unit priceWhat one ounce, one liter or one item costs. A 12-ounce box for $3.00 has a unit price of 25 cents an ounce.
Show all 36 terms (24 more)
Prices and percents 12
better buyOf two choices, the one with the lower unit price. A large box at 25 cents an ounce is a better buy than a small one at 30 cents an ounce.
changeMoney given back after paying more than the price. Paying for a $7.35 lunch with a $10 bill brings $2.65 in change.
couponA voucher that lowers the price of a named product. With a $1.50 coupon, a $6 box of cereal costs $4.50.
estimateA close guess worked out with rounded numbers. Rounding $4.89, $2.15 and $7.95 to $5, $2 and $8 gives an estimate of $15.
markdownA planned cut in what a store asks for its goods. Stores often mark goods down at the end of a season to clear them out.
markupThe extra a shop charges above what it paid for an item. A store that buys a shirt for $10 and sells it for $15 has a markup of $5, or 50 percent of cost.
percent decreaseA drop compared with the starting amount, out of 100. A price cut from $50 to $40 is a 20 percent decrease.
percent increaseA rise compared with the starting amount, out of 100. A rent that goes from $800 to $840 has risen 5 percent.
regular priceWhat an item costs when it is not on sale. It is the starting figure for working out a discount. The price a maker suggests is called the list price.
tax rateThe percent that a government charges on an amount. A 7 percent rate means 7 cents of tax on every dollar.
unit rateThe amount of one quantity matched to 1 of another. 150 miles in 3 hours is a unit rate of 50 miles per hour.
wholesale priceWhat a store pays when it buys goods in bulk. Retailers buy in large quantities and sell in smaller ones to shoppers.
Budgets, saving and borrowing 12
compound interestGrowth in which each period's gain is added to the base. $1,000 at 5 percent a year earns $50 the first year and $52.50 the second.
depreciationThe loss in value of something as it ages and wears. A car bought for $20,000 and worth $17,000 a year later has depreciated by $3,000.
down paymentCash paid at the start so that less has to be borrowed. A 10 percent down payment on a $20,000 car is $2,000, which leaves $18,000 to borrow.
fixed expenseA bill that comes to the same amount every month. Rent is a common example.
installment planA way to buy now and pay in equal parts over months. Twelve payments of $45 come to $540, so a $500 item bought this way costs $40 extra.
interest rateThe yearly cost of borrowing, stated as a percent. At 6 percent a year, $200 borrowed for one year costs $12 in interest.
loanMoney a lender provides and expects back in payments. The paper that records a loan states the principal, the interest rate and the date of repayment.
profitWhat a business keeps once its costs are subtracted. A bake sale that takes in $180 and spends $65 on supplies makes a profit of $115.
savingsMoney set aside for later instead of being spent. Putting aside $25 a week adds up to $1,300 in a year.
simple interestThe principal times the rate times the number of years. $400 at 3 percent for 2 years: 400 x 0.03 x 2 = $24.
utilitiesHome services billed by use, such as water and power. The companies that supply them are called public utilities.
variable expenseA cost that changes from month to month. A utility bill can be one: using more water or power makes it higher.
How this list was compiled: Term list chosen for this site on 2026-10-12. Each meaning is written in our own words and was checked that day against the English Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/), whose text is under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license, in the articles Consumer math, Percentage, Discounts and allowances, Sales tax, Sales taxes in the United States, Gratuity, Unit price, Budget, Expense, Markup (business), Price markdown, List price, Wholesaling, Retail, Coupon, Rate (mathematics), Relative change, Tax rate, Estimation, Compound interest, Interest rate, Loan, Down payment, Hire purchase, Depreciation and Public utility, and against the entries of Wiktionary, the free dictionary (https://en.wiktionary.org/), under the same license, for percent, discount, sale price, sales tax, unit price, markup, markdown, coupon, estimate, change, principal, interest, simple interest, compound interest, interest rate, down payment, depreciation, utility, wholesale and tax rate. The second source is the glossary of the youth financial education pages of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (https://www.consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/educator-tools/youth-financial-education/glossary/), for budget, income, interest, principal, sales tax, tip, fixed and variable expenses, savings, compound interest, interest rate, loan, down payment and profit; the sales tax row was also read in the glossary of Understanding Taxes of the Internal Revenue Service (https://apps.irs.gov/app/understandingTaxes/student/glossary.jsp). The sums in the examples are our own arithmetic, each worked twice. The other rows, and the fact after each meaning, rest on the Wikipedia articles. Licence: own work
How it works
These consumer math vocabulary worksheets begin with twelve words every shopper meets: percent, discount, sale price, sales tax, tip, unit price, budget, interest and four more, each to be matched to its meaning. An answer key prints last.
Read the full guide
A consumer vocabulary worksheet on prices and percents
In Set, the second sheet has regular price, markup, markdown, wholesale price, coupon, better buy, unit rate, percent increase, percent decrease, tax rate, estimate and change.
Budgets, saving and borrowing
The third has fixed expense, variable expense, savings, simple interest, compound interest, interest rate, loan, down payment, installment plan, depreciation, utilities and profit. Under the tool each term has a worked sum or a fact. The meanings were checked against Wikipedia, Wiktionary and the glossary of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Problems to solve are on the consumer math worksheets.
Prices and rates in the examples are made up for the arithmetic. The sheets give no advice about spending or borrowing.
Questions and answers
What topics does consumer math cover?
A consumer math course usually reviews fractions, decimals and percents and applies them to making change, checking accounts, budgets, discounts, markups and markdowns, payroll, simple and compound interest, taxes, credit and mortgages.
How do you find the sale price after a discount?
Multiply the regular price by the discount rate, then subtract the answer from the regular price. For 25 percent off $60: 60 x 0.25 = 15, and 60 - 15 = $45.
What is the difference between markup and markdown?
A markup is added to what the seller paid, to reach the selling price. A markdown is taken off the selling price later, usually to sell goods faster. A $10 shirt marked up to $15, then marked down $3, sells for $12.
How do you calculate percent increase?
Subtract the old amount from the new one, divide by the old amount and multiply by 100. From $40 to $46: 46 - 40 = 6, and 6 / 40 = 0.15, a 15 percent increase.