If your thinking of buying a top of the range computer or a home entertainment system you may need to use a credit card to spread the cost.
It's always a good idea to calculate the total cost of your credit card loan and how much you should pay each month to reduce your credit card bill as quickly as possible.
This free Credit Card Calculator will help you to budget for those larger items and let you see how much interest is charged over the full term of your credit card loan.
The calculator will not let you pay less than 2% or so of the outstanding balance so just up your monthly payment to at least 2% of the initial debt e.g. if £1,000 is borrowed the minimum monthly payment would be £20. At this low rate of payment most credit card companies in the UK warn "If you make only the minimum payment each month it will take longer and cost more to clear your balance". By using the calculator you can see how many months it will take to repay the loan, how much interest you will have to pay and the total amount you pay back to the credit card company.
Its always a good idea to pay off as much as you can each and every month. Try setting up a Direct Debit for the minimum monthly payment required by your credit card company and then make top up payments as often as you can. The quicker you pay off a credit card loan the less interest you will have to pay!