CAPITAL AND INTEREST MORTGAGE
More commonly called a repayment mortgage, it's set up so that you pay off some of the original amount you've borrowed, as well as the interest on the loan, every month. As long as you keep up the repayments your loan is guaranteed to be repaid at the end of the term.

CAPITAL GAIN
If you sell certain assets, such as shares or investment property, for a higher price than you paid for them (once any expenses have been taken into account), you have made a capital gain.

CAPITAL GAINS TAX (CGT)
The tax you pay on the profit you make when you sell particular assets, such as shares or investment property (as long as it isn't your main home). You don't have to pay tax on every penny of profit as you have an annual capital gains tax allowance. The current rate of capital gains tax is 18% for basic rate taxpayers and 28% for anyone on a higher rate of tax.

CAPITAL GAINS TAX ALLOWANCE
Every year (from April 6th to the following April 5th) you're given a capital gains tax allowance. It's the amount of profit or capital gain you're allowed to make every year when you sell certain assets without being liable for capital gains tax. In the tax year 2010-2011 it is £10,100.

CAPITAL GROWTH
An increase in the value of your investment once charges and costs have been taken into account.

CASHBACK CREDIT CARDS
These cards give you back a (small) percentage of the amount you spend on your card. Typically, a cashback card may pay up to 5% of your spending, which will be credited to your account.

CASH-BASED FUNDS
Funds offered by a pension or investment company as an alternative to riskier share or bond-based funds. Some of them work on a similar principle to keeping your money in a savings account, but others invest in riskier assets. You may also find them called 'money market' funds.

CASH HANDLING FEE
If you withdraw cash from a cash machine using your credit card, you'll normally be charged a cash handling fee (which can be between 2% and 3%). It doesn't just apply to times when you take out cash but to other transactions such as online gambling and money transfers. It's also called a 'cash advance fee'.

CHARGEBACK
If you buy something using your credit card or Visa debit card, you may be able to get a refund from the credit card provider through chargeback if the goods are faulty or don't arrive. Chargeback doesn't apply to debit cards that are not under the Visa brand and it's not something that's set in law unlike Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, which also gives you rights if you want to dispute a transaction. Chargeback can be useful if you buy goods that cost less than £100 (as Section 75 only applies to those costing £100 - £30,000).

CHARGING ORDER
A little known legal process whereby a company that you owe money to can go to court to turn an unsecured debt that is not linked to your home (such as a credit card or personal loan), into a secured debt. It means that if you do not repay the money you owe, the creditor could go back to court and force your home to be sold.

CHILD BENEFIT
A tax-free benefit paid to the main carer of a child. You are normally given forms for child benefit in the 'bounty pack' that you receive in hospital.

CHILD TAX CREDIT
If you're responsible for at least one child or young person who lives with you, you may qualify for child tax credit. It's a government payment administered by HM Revenue & Customs.

CHILD TRUST FUND (CTF)
A savings and investment account for children, abolished by the coalition government from January 2011. The idea was to encourage parents to save for their children. Friends and relatives can pay up to £1,200 a year between them into existing child trust funds and the money grows free of tax. It cannot be touched until your child's 18th birthday.

CHRONIC CONDITION
Medical insurers use this term to describe an illness or disease that they will no longer pay for the treatment of. An acute illness or condition can become chronic after a certain length of time. The rules may vary from insurer to insurer. It means that funding for treatment for an illness such as cancer may stop after a while.

CLEAN BREAK
A financial settlement in divorce that aims to sort out all the money issues in one go so that the former husband and wife do not have to rely on each other for financial payments in the future.

CLEARED BALANCE
This shows money that is available in your bank account for you to spend. If the balance is shown as 'uncleared' it is on its way from the person or company that paid you, but it is not yet available for you to spend.

CLOSED FUND
A with-profits fund (which invests in a mixture of shares, bonds and cash) that is not taking on any new business. Closed funds normally give investors a far worse deal than funds that are still trying to attract new customers.

COLLABORATIVE FAMILY LAW
A way of negotiating a divorce where each partner has their own solicitor and meetings are carried out face-to-face. The solicitors also agree that if the negotiations break down and the couple go to court, they will not represent them and new solicitors would have to be appointed.

COLLECTIVE INVESTMENT
Sometimes also called a 'pooled fund', it allows a group of investors to combine their money into one fund. The advantage of a collective investment is that it lets you spread your risk by buying a range of different shares or bonds etc. It's typically used to describe investment funds such as OEICS, unit trusts or investment trusts.

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY
Office blocks, shops and factories all fall into this category. Individuals can invest in commercial property through specialist funds (which can be quite risky) and large investment and pension funds often spread their risk by buying commercial property as well.

COMMISSION
Some financial advisers receive a commission when they sell you a financial policy or product, which is taken out of the premiums you pay, often in the first year or two. It can feel like a less painful way of paying for financial advice as you don't have to hand over a cheque, but it can be more expensive in the long run. It could also influence the advice you're given.

CONSOLIDATION LOAN
A loan that you can roll other debts into. They're sold as a way of lowering your monthly payments, but that's because you take often the loan out over a much longer period, secure it against your home or do both. Check what you'll be giving up in return for lower payments.

CONTENTS INSURANCE
This insurance covers the cost of replacing the contents of your home (from carpets and furniture to clothes and electronics). It does not cover fixtures and fittings that are attached to the structure of the property (such as kitchen units or bathroom suite etc.). Policies vary widely; for example, one insurer might pay for the replacement of a three-piece suite if one armchair was damaged, another might only cover the cost of the armchair.

CONTRACTING OUT
If you contract out of the state second pension (or SERPS pre-2002), part of your National Insurance contributions are paid to a pension scheme or company to build up a private pension.

CONVEYANCING
The legal process of transferring ownership of a property from the seller to the buyer. You don't have to use a solicitor to carry out this transaction, although most people do.

CONVEYANCING SOLICITOR
A solicitor who carries out the legal process of transferring property ownership. Buyers are often recommended solicitors by the estate agent they are buying through. This can save the hassle of picking one yourself, but I'd recommend that you find out a little about how they work before you sign up (e.g. will they keep you informed of progress, how much will they charge if you send them an email to find out what's going on etc.).

COOLING-OFF PERIOD
The time you're allowed to cancel after agreeing to take out a financial product or insurance policy and get your money back without paying a penalty. Check how long the cooling-off period is before you sign up.

CORPORATE BOND
An IOU when you make a loan to a company. The lower the interest rate (i.e. the lower the income you receive), the less risky the company is perceived to be. Companies that are at the risky end of the spectrum issue high-yield bonds, otherwise known as 'junk bonds', although - for obvious reasons - some prefer not to use that term.

COUNTY COURT JUDGEMENT (CCJ)
This is an order made against you after someone you owe money to has taken you to court to recover the debt. It may be for the amount you owe or a different amount set by the court.

CREDIT FILE
This records a variety of information about you relating to how you have repaid money you've borrowed. Your credit file will also contain what's called 'publicly available information', such as whether you have registered on the electoral roll and whether you have been declared bankrupt or had a county court judgement registered against you. In the UK, credit files are compiled by three different credit reference agencies. Only companies that provide credit repayment data are able to access information provided by other lenders. That means that employers and landlords can only see information that is publicly available.

CREDIT HISTORY/RECORD
A broad term describing how you've managed loans and other forms of credit. It includes information on how much you have borrowed (or how high the credit limit is, in the case of credit cards) and whether you've made your payments on time.

CREDIT REFERENCE AGENCY
In the UK, there are three credit reference agencies (Experian, Equifax and Call Credit). They store and compile detailed credit files on adults in the UK from information that is publicly available and credit repayment data provided by lenders.

CREDIT SCORE
This is a number between 0 and 1,000, which represents how good or bad a risk a credit provider believes you to be. The higher the credit score, the better the risk you are and the easier (and cheaper) it will be to get credit. The complicating factor is that lenders and credit providers use different systems to work out your credit score and they're pretty secretive about what goes into them. It means that if you are turned down by a lender on the basis of your credit score, it may be difficult to work out exactly why.

CREDIT UNION
A community-based finance organisation that provides savings accounts and loans. Credit unions may be set up in a particular neighbourhood or may be linked to your job (for example, several police forces and fire brigades have their own credit unions).

CRITICAL ILLNESS INSURANCE
A policy designed to pay out a lump sum if you are diagnosed with a serious illness. Some policies cover more illnesses than others, and some are stricter than others in terms of how serious the disease should be before it triggers a payment. Always check exactly what is covered (and have conversations confirmed in writing, if you're buying over the phone), before you sign up.