Five interest-ing tips to avoid a financial hangover

Thinking of taking a loan to pay for Christmas? The Credit Unions of Wales have put together five tips to help you avoid a financial hangover in January:

  • Check the term of the loan: Low weekly repayments may seem affordable, but check how many weeks, months or years you will be making those payments.
  • Check the total amount paid: The longer you borrow for, the more interest you pay!
  • APR (annualised percentage rate): This is the interest rate to look at when applying for a loan as it includes any associated fees.
  • Representative APR: This is a very common term used by banks, but the rate only needs to be offered to 51 per cent of applicants. In other words, when you apply you could be offered a higher rate.
  • Actual APR: This is offered by Credit Unions and it means what you see is what you get! Everyone offered that specific loan will pay the APR advertised.