Symple Lending

  For decades, credit cards have played a prominent role in how Americans make purchases, pay medical bills, and even earn rewards. While they are convenient and can even offer perks — like cash back rewards — they do have a dark side. If cardholders aren’t careful, spending can get out of control. Many consumers have good intentions and plan to pay off the entire balance monthly, but life happens. And before they know it, the balance — and interest — take on a life of its own. Look at this article as a brief guide on how credit card interest is accrued. Lending institutions and retailers must borrow the money that they lend to you. And since they must pay interest on those funds, you must pay interest on what you borrow. However, the good news is: you can take steps to avoid paying unnecessary interest charges. Calculating credit card interest Many Americans readily admit they weren’t superstar math students in school and believe converting percentages is way over their head. And ...

The experts at Symple Lending discuss how rising interest rates are make paying down credit cards more difficult.   Cash-strapped consumers who have been relying on plastic to make their purchases are now paying the price. When the second quarter of 2023 ended, the  Federal Reserve Bank of New York  revealed the cold hard facts about the state of U.S. consumers’ credit card balances. According to their report, revolving credit spiked $45 billion between the first and second quarters, catapulting total credit card debt north of $1 trillion. Credit card debt among average credit cardholders is  $ 6,568 up  from $5,963 in Q2 2022. After the Federal Reserve’s annual meeting in Jackson Hole, WY in late August, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the inflation battle is still ongoing. Thus, he couldn’t rule out additional rate hikes later in 2023. For anyone keeping count, the Fed has raised rates by  5.25  percentage points since March 2022. That’s 10 consecutive ...