Quick Credit Cards

Managing your credit card can become a lot easier if you know how much it is costing you every month.

Whether you want to develop a budget or find the most affordable credit card for your lifestyle, looking at the monthly cost of a card helps put things into perspective.

It is usually also a more realistic way to look at expenses, especially when compared to annual costs.

Most of the time we do not realise how much we spend on credit over a year, living on a more month-to-month or even week-to-week basis, so adjusting our expenses accordingly makes financial management a lot more accurate.

The main credit card account costs that people have to deal with throughout the year are:

1. Interest charges
2. Transaction fees
3. Penalty fees; and
4. Annual fees

These four card features make up the bulk of credit costs and can be used to figure out monthly expenses for any number of cards.

Expenses On Credit Card Statements

The good news is that most account fees are listed on your credit card statement.

Usually the statement period is a month long, so you can see how much interest has been charged and what transaction or penalty fees have been applied (if any).

These costs give you a basic idea of how much you pay on your credit card every month.

The annual fee, on the other hand, is charged only once a year but if you want to factor that into your monthly credit card cost, just divide the amount by 12.

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