The APR or annual percentage rate that is used for a credit card or credit facility is our guideline as to how much interest we will be paying to the financial lender on the money we borrow. With the competition nowadays to offer us credit on all matter of consumables we can all to easily forget that what we sign for today on a credit card or credit arrangement will inevitably cost us considerably more than the original purchase price if we don't make some preliminary investigations into the total cost of the item including the financial lenders interest.

So when making your next purchase using a credit card, or any other credit arrangement, be sure to enquire first what the APR is and what the total cost of the item will cost you including the interest.

As a basic guideline obviously the lower the APR is, the smaller the amount of interest charged should be, however it is always wise to ask for a full quotation of the total cost in writing when ever possible.

Also check what APR your current credit card is charging and make the time to see what better offers are being made by the other financial institutions, it is not uncommon nowadays to find interest rates now being offered from 0% to the high 20% range. Again it is also well worth asking how long the interest rate being offered is guaranteed for as some companies may offer an attractive introductory rate for a short period of time which when reverted back to their normal rate may be far more uncompetitive than others available.