A Guide Borrowing Money
Keeping on top of your finances can sometimes be difficult, especially if you need to borrow money. Interest rates, hidden charges and penalties for late payments can leave you taking on far more than you bargained for – financially and emotionally. This leaflet gives you practical advice about borrowing money, explains the different options and outlines how much they could cost you in the long run.
Borrowing money: what you need to know
Interest rates
Any organisation that lends money will charge an interest rate. This is the price you pay for borrowing the money.
Interest rates are expressed as the amount of money you would have to pay back over a year (that is, the annual percentage rate or APR). The APR may be the same for the duration of the loan (a fixed rate) or can change during the course of the loan (a variable rate). You can use the APR to compare the cost of borrowing money.