ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Financial services in the United States

Okay kiddo, let's talk about financial services in the United States. Financial services is just a fancy way of saying things that help you manage your money. You know how your piggy bank is where you keep all your money? Well, financial services are like grown-up piggy banks for adults!

There are lots of types of financial services, but the most common ones are banks and credit unions. Think of them like places where you can put your money and they will keep it safe for you. You can also borrow money from them if you need to buy something like a house or a car.

When you put money in a bank, they pay you something called interest which is like a little extra money they give you for keeping your money with them. And when you borrow money from a bank, you have to pay them back with something called interest too. It's like paying the bank for letting you borrow their money.

Another type of financial service is something called insurance. It's like protecting your toys from getting broken. You pay a little bit of money to an insurance company every month, and if something bad happens like you get sick or your house gets damaged in a storm, the insurance company will help pay for the costs. Just like how you ask your parents for help if your toys get broken!

And finally, there are things called investment services. It's like putting your toys to work to make more toys. When you're older, you might want to put some of your money into something called a stock or a bond which are kind of like little pieces of companies. If the company does well, the value of your stock or bond goes up and you can sell it for more money. But if the company does poorly, you might lose some of your money too.

So, financial services in the United States are just ways for grown-ups to manage their money, keep it safe, and make more of it. It's like a big piggy bank for adults!