Earth's energy budget

Earth's energy budget is like a money budget. The earth receives a certain amount of energy from the sun - like money coming in - and has to spend it in certain ways - like money going out. This energy "budget" helps the earth stay in balance. The energy coming in from the sun is called incoming solar radiation, and the energy going out is called outgoing longwave radiation. This outgoing longwave radiation helps the Earth stay at the same temperature. It's like the Earth is getting money from the sun, but it's trying to save the same amount so it doesn't heat up too much.