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Financial products of all shapes and sizes carry with them a plethora of different words or terms. The general assumption is that everyone is aware of exactly what each of these mean but often that is not the case. It is important to have these terms perfectly clear in your mind, things like bank accounts, loans and mortgages are incredibly important and you should be absolutely sure what it is that you are getting, and what you are looking for. Here is a quick explanation of a few simple terms that we come across nearly every single day:
APR - or Annual Percentage Rate
The Annual Percentage Rate refers to the amount of interest that you will be charged on your loan, or credit card over the course of the year. As far as APR is concerned there is one golden rule: the lower the better as it means that you will have to pay less interest on your purchases or your loan. With credit cards, particularly those that seem to offer a very low APR, you should bear in mind that many offer a good introductory rate in order to convince people to sign up. Later in the year they then move to a higher APR, and this will cost you more. Make sure that you know the rate over the entire lifespan of the card or loan, not just the introductory offer
Interest and Interest Rates
Interest is one of the most common financial terms. In regards to sums of money that you already have, such as in savings accounts, it is the amount of money that you get from the bank or building society above the sum that you have paid in. When it comes to sums of money that you are borrowing, such as a loan or mortgage, it is the amount that you pay back on top of the basic amount that you borrow. This is how banks and building societies make their profits.
Accordingly the Interest Rate is the percentage of your own funds that you will be given by the bank, or the percentage of the amount that you have borrowed that you will have to pay extra to the lender. The higher the Interest Rate on the current account, the more money you will gain from it, the higher the Interest Rate on the loan, the more you will owe to the lender.
Capital
Capital is the amount of money, or the amount of debt that you began with, before extra complications such as interest or any bonuses are offered. The amount of money that you owe on a loan is your original borrowing (the capital) plus a certain percentage of that original sum (the Interest rate).
The general rule is that when it’s your own capital you’re looking for the highest Interest Rates in order to make the most of your money, when it’s someone else’s capital that you have, or are, borrowing, you want the lowest Interest Rates and APR so that you end up paying as little as possible.
This is a very basic and very simple guide to a few introductory terms. When you are looking for a bank account also bear in mind the nature of the institution from which you are borrowing. In the current financial climate it is good to look at large banks with broad, stable bases. Accordingly, banks such as Alliance & Leicester (who have recently become part of the Santander group) are offering very good value deals, even at the moment, and are definitely worth considering. Have a look at their website to find out more about savings.