DEATH-IN-SERVICE BENEFIT
Employers often offer a lump sum of between two and ten times your salary if you die while you're still employed by them. The lump sum will be paid to your husband, partner or dependants.

DEBT CONSOLIDATION
This normally involves taking out one loan to pay off several other loans or debts. It may be a good idea for some people in limited circumstances, but it certainly isn't the answer for everyone. If you're being encouraged or advised to consolidate your debts into a secured loan (i.e. one where the value of your property acts as a security), think very carefully about doing so.

DEBT MANAGEMENT PLAN (DMP)
A way of paying off debts, such as personal loans, store card and credit card debts that you cannot make the full payments on. It's normally something you would sort out with the help of a debt adviser who will look at how much you pay for rent or mortgage, gas and/or electricity and other priority payments, such as council tax. Some creditors may freeze interest and other charges.

DECLARATION OF TRUST
If you buy a property with, for example, your partner and want to split the ownership unequally, your solicitor should suggest you draw up a document that spells out the percentage of the property each of you owns.

DECREASING TERM ASSURANCE
Life insurance that is designed to run alongside a repayment mortgage (where amount you owe reduces over time). If you die within the term of the life insurance policy it will pay out a lump sum, but the amount decreases every year. Don't expect the premiums you pay to fall over the term of the policy; they won't.

DECREE ABSOLUTE
A document that shows a marriage has been ended by divorce. For civil partnerships, the equivalent document is a 'final order'.

DECREE NISI
A document giving a preliminary declaration that a marriage has been ended by divorce. Once the decree nisi has been issued, there is a period of six weeks and one day before the decree absolute is granted. For civil partnerships, the equivalent document is a 'provisional order'.

DEEDS
Otherwise called 'title deeds', these documents record who owns a property. Until fairly recently, if you had a mortgage on your property, the mortgage lender would keep the title deeds until you had paid it off. However, these days mortgage lenders seem happy to rely on the fact that the Land Registry (or Register of Scotland) records ownership of properties, including whether or not there is a mortgage on it.

DEFAULT
If you break the terms of a loan agreement (by not making the payments you are supposed to), you are said to have defaulted on the loan. A lender wouldn't necessarily describe you as being 'in default' if you missed one payment, but you would risk being in default if you missed a series of payments. Once you are in default, it will normally be registered on your credit record for up to six years.

DEFERRED PERIOD
This is the period of time between you making a claim on an insurance policy, such as income protection or accident, sickness and unemployment cover, and the payments being triggered. A deferred period normally lasts for 4, 13, 26 or 52 weeks; the longer it is, the lower the premiums.

DEFINED BENEFIT SCHEME
The new(ish) name for a final salary pension. The pensions industry is moving away from calling them 'final salary' schemes because some employers link the amount you get at retirement to an average of your salary, rather than your salary at retirement (or when you left the company).

DEFINED CONTRIBUTION SCHEME
The new(ish) name for a money purchase pension. With a defined contribution pension, your employer pays a specified amount into the pension every month on your behalf, but makes no promises or guarantees about how much the pension fund will be worth when you retire.

DEFLATION
The opposite of inflation. With deflation, prices fall over time. It sounds like a good idea, especially if you're planning a major purchase as you just sit back and wait for prices to fall. Unfortunately, it has a negative effect on the wider economy precisely because it makes people reluctant to spend (which means demand falls, so companies make people redundant, which reduces demand etc.).

DEPENDANT
Someone who relies on you for financial support. It could be your husband, partner or a child/children.

DIRECT DEBIT
A way of paying regular bills (such as gas, electricity etc.). Be aware that you give the company you're paying via direct debit the right to take 'variable amounts' from your account as long as they inform you in advance within a specified period. There are guarantees to guard against abuse and fraud, but the fact payments are not fixed can make budgeting difficult.

DISABILITY LIVING ALLOWANCE
A tax-free benefit paid to children or adults aged under 65 who need help with personal care or walking and those who need to be supervised.

DISCLOSURE
If you buy an insurance policy, you are normally expected to make a disclosure of your circumstances. It means that if, for example, you've had an illness and you're applying for medical insurance, you would have to tell the insurance company. Increasingly, insurance companies are asking for detailed information about minor illnesses, routine tests and scans (even if you were given the all clear afterwards).

DISCOUNT BROKER
Someone who sells or buys investments or insurance without giving advice. They are also known as 'execution-only brokers'. They will often give you a discount on some or all of the charges on an investment plan.

DISCOUNT RATE MORTGAGE
A mortgage where the interest rate you pay is less than the standard variable rate. The level of the discount is set for the term of the deal, but the rate you pay could rise or fall depending on whether the Bank of England varies interest rates and/or if the mortgage lender decides to raise or lower its standard variable rate.

DISCRETIONARY STOCKBROKER
If you have a large amount of money that you want to invest in shares and investment funds etc., you can ask a stockbroker to manage your investments for you without checking with you every time she or he wants to sell or buy shares.

DIVIDEND
If you own shares in a company, you may receive a dividend as a share of the profits. Dividends are normally paid twice a year; either as cash or as additional shares, but their level (and, indeed, whether there is a dividend at all) is not guaranteed.

DIVERSIFICATION
The process of spreading your money around several different assets (such as shares, bonds and cash) to reduce the risk of losing money if one of them falls in value.

DORMANT ACCOUNT
A bank or building society account that hasn't been used for a number of years. If an account has not been active for 15 years, the money can be used to fund 'good causes', although if the customer claims it after that date, they must be given any money they are owed.