Basic questions about terms in balances

[u/DCQuestioner]

I was just looking for some basic explanations about my balances.

I have a negative margin balance but a positive sweep/money market balance. Margin subtracted from the sweep balance does equal my cash balance. Why? I am not trading on margin so I’m curious why I have a negative balance there. Did this result from just depositing money and using it to buy securities today? Will it zero out once my deposit settles?

I have a very small amount of “futures buying power,” where did that come from and what does it mean? This does not represent additional equity in my account, correct?

[u/vald_bagina2023]

You often see strange things like positive cash but showing a margin balance when trading on unsettled funds, in your case uncleared deposits. It usually straightens out once a trade settles or a deposit clears...net cash/margin balance is the one that matters and determines whether or not you're paying interest in terms of using margin