So you just opened an envelope that contained a shiny piece of plastic with your name on it. Awesome a bank or financial institution just gave you a line of credit! Before you start joyously swiping it on just about any cash register, take the time to read this article to understand the credit card interest rates.
A credit card is an authority to spend the money of the company that issued it, in return for a promise that you will repay them in the future, called payment-due date. This date is written on your cards monthly billing statement together with the total cost of the items you purchased for that month (outstanding balance). Smart credit card users pay for the total outstanding balance on the payment due date. However, there maybe instances that you will not be able to. During these times, the card company lets you borrow the money longer, until the next months payment-due date, for a fee. This fee is calculated based on the credit cards interest rate.
Usually, credit card companies quote the APR (Annual Percentage Rate) as the interest rate for using their card. But, this is not entirely true. When you do not pay the total outstanding balance, interest...