minimum payments
Lowest required installments
Minimum payments are the smallest amounts a borrower must pay each billing cycle to keep an account in good standing.
Credit card companies calculate them as a percentage of the balance or a flat fee, whichever is greater.
Paying only the minimum avoids late fees but extends repayment dramatically, allowing interest to accumulate: If you only make minimum payments, that TV will cost you three times the sticker price.
- credit cardBorrowed-funds payment tool
- credit scoreNumerical measure of borrower reliability
- credit limitMaximum allowed debt
- debtMoney owed another
- debt trapSelf-perpetuating financial burden
balance · balance transfer · due date · interest · interest rate · APR · fine print · statement · billing cycle · principal · late fee · penalty · revolving · monthly · maxed out · afford · payoff · compound
- debtdebt, creditor, owe, debtor, lender
- payment termspast due, late fee, late fees, final notice, penalties
- predatory lendingpayday loans, title loans, loan sharks, loan sharking, usury
- lending rulesusury laws, fair lending, predatory lending, truth in lending, loan terms
- overspendingcredit card debt, maxed out cards, overdraft, impulse buying, shopping sprees