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Money · Guided lesson

Subtract fees and early-exit costs

About 8 minutes · 3 reading + 5 practice and checks
Time includes reading, practice, and questions. Extra videos or further study are optional.
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A time-matched savings comparison with annual yield, fees, early-exit costs, insurance checks and a maturity calendar.

Keep your working files in your own notebook or software. Save a private description, checklist, and work link in My Proof.

What to include

  • A dated savings-use allocation and product-eligibility screen.
  • A one-year APY comparison with principal, interest and ending balances.
  • An after-cost savings comparison with itemized recurring fees and exit deductions.
  • A product-type and official-insurance verification sheet.
  • A maturity ladder with cumulative available principal and renewal actions.
  • A before/after savings allocation with a quantified early-access gap.

Review and revise

Use these criteria to check your work and choose what to improve.

  • All supplied records reconcile and the decision uses the named case rules.
  • Calculations show units, intermediate values and a second check.
  • Changed-input practice revises the affected result and identifies uncertainty.
  • The final project combines six lesson records, separates fictional assumptions from current rules, and states a supported next step.
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Before you begin

The idea in everyday life

This is an original fictional practice case. No account, payment, personal record or outside participation is required. One-year interest is $150. Account fee is $4/month. Alternative term deposit earns $160 but an early exit would cost $90; assume these supplied dollar amounts.

The idea

Compare money available after the stated costs, not interest before those costs.

Follow along

Subtract fees and early-exit costs — worked practice

Compare money available after the stated costs, not interest before those costs.

Use paper or a local table; label all amounts as fictional USD unless the case names another unit. One-year interest is $150. Account fee is $4/month. Alternative term deposit earns $160 but an early exit would cost $90; assume these supplied dollar amounts.

Gross and net return inputs

Paste at A1.

AInput or recordBSupplied value
Account gross interest USD150
Account monthly fee USD4
Fee months12
Term deposit gross interest USD160
Term deposit early-exit cost USD90

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  1. 1. Step 1: Annualize the recurring account fee

    Annualize the recurring account fee.

    You should see: 4×12=$48.

    Compare money available after the stated costs, not interest before those costs.

  2. 2. Step 2: Subtract it from account interest

    Subtract it from account interest.

    You should see: Net interest $102.

    Keep this intermediate result so the final decision can be checked.

  3. 3. Step 3: Calculate the term deposit’s early-exit net interest

    Calculate the term deposit’s early-exit net interest.

    You should see: 160−90=$70 in this stated scenario.

    Keep this intermediate result so the final decision can be checked.

  4. 4. Step 4: Compare equivalent net results with access conditions

    Compare equivalent net results with access conditions.

    You should see: Account net interest is $32 higher if that exact early-exit scenario occurs.

    Keep this intermediate result so the final decision can be checked.

Now change one thing

Monthly account fee falls to $2. Net interest?

Your work

What to finish

An after-cost savings comparison with itemized recurring fees and exit deductions.

Common mistake

Watch for this

Subtracting a monthly fee once instead of for all twelve months.

How can I tell I understand it?

Calculate after-fee and early-exit savings returns using specified terms on a new supplied case, with a visible intermediate check and no unsupported real-world promise.

Try 3 questions

Quick knowledge check

Answer all 3 questions. Get at least 2 right and the lesson completes automatically.

Not yet passed

You’ll get an explanation for each answer. Signed in? Your results save to your account.

1$100 interest less $3/month for 12 months: net interest?
2A penalty can consume principal as well as interest under stated terms. What should the model show?
3A higher-yield option ends with less usable money after fees. Which number supports comparison?
0 of 3 answeredApply the lesson to a short question, then review the explanation.
3
Finish this lesson

Pass the check. We’ll save the progress.

Answer all 3 questions above and get at least 2 right. You can review the explanations and try again.

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Sources and further reading

Explore the references behind this lesson.

SEC Investor.gov — Certificates of Deposit (CDs)
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Official page opened/read during Money expansion authoring; checked the relevant concept and access state. These sources do not establish funding eligibility.

Access: Readable official webpage inspected with the web reader on 2026-10-01. No interactive-tool operation is claimed.

Reuse: Original fictional practice, questions and calculations; paraphrased concepts with a source link. No source exercise copied.

SEC Investor.gov — High-Yield CDs: Protect Your Money by Checking the Fine Print
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Official page opened/read during Money expansion authoring; checked the relevant concept and access state. These sources do not establish funding eligibility.

Access: Readable official webpage inspected with the web reader on 2026-10-01. No interactive-tool operation is claimed.

Reuse: Original fictional practice, questions and calculations; paraphrased concepts with a source link. No source exercise copied.

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