What is APR????
With personal loans, there is a lot of talk about outrageous APR.
And if you are like most Americans you may know that APR stands for Annual Percentage Rate,
(as related to interest on a loan) however, how is APR calculated? Does APR matter when discussing small loans, and why it is so
important to understand the APR on any loan product.
First off APR must be broken into two categories, the nominal APR, which is the simple interest rate for a year and the effective
APR, also called EAR, which is the fee plus compound interest rate, calculated for a year. The EAR is considered the more realistic
APR. A lot of the way the EAR is calculated depends as well on the fees or start-up costs. If they are rolled into the loan the balance
will obviously accrue more interest. Auto loans are examples of when a lot of lenders will wrap-in extra costs, like title, tax and
registration in to your total loan amount. People could save more money, especially people that are only approved with high-interest
rate for a loan, if they paid these origination fees and others upfront.
Lenders are required to disclose the
APR BEFORE the loan is finalized, including payday advance lenders. However, keep in mind that because they are disclosing the APR
this how much interest you would pay if you took out a payday loan for a year. Payday loans are NEVER meant to be paid back in a year
and are usually intended to be paid back in a two-week period. However, it is a good reminder that if you don't pay back your loan on time
it could end up costing you a lot in interest.