How to pay less interest on your credit cards?

The cost of doing business continues to rise, and finding good solutions is one way to manage cash flow. Taking advantage of discounts offered by materials providers can be a way to help ease rising costs. When those discounts only last a short time, using a credit card for purchase can help.

Knowing what that credit will cost should be part of the calculation. It can make a decision to order now easier, or it may make a larger order still out of reach. Knowing ways to save on the cost of interest can also help lower the cost of credit.

Understanding Grace Periods

There are credit companies that offer a week or two grace period on purchases before interest is added to the total. These are called grace periods, and understanding how they work can make a positive impact on a new business. If the credit company receives the amount of the purchase before the grace period ends, there will be no interest added. This can be a boon for business owners deciding whether or not to order more than usual to get a good discount. It should be noted that interest will be tacked on daily once the grace period is over.

Learn to Calculate Interest

When it comes to credit cards, figuring out the interest that will be due can seem confusing. According to Lantern by SoFi, “there are several factors that determine your interest rate.” Credit card companies use APR to calculate interest. This is just an acronym that means annual percentage rate.

They take that number, divide it by the number of days in the year, and then calculate the interest daily. If a company charges 15 percent APR, they then divide it by 365 days in the year (366 in a leap year), and then they apply that number to the balance on the card after a grace period is over.

Lowering Credit Costs

There are several different ways to make purchases without paying more than necessary for credit. While it is easy enough to calculate credit card interest, using the knowledge provided by experts can help. One suggestion is to use online tools or an Excel spreadsheet to calculate interest. The spreadsheet can also help track how much interest is being paid, and that may make it easier to be creative when finding business savings.

Pay in Full

Avoiding interest altogether is easy enough when a company has the ability to pay in full. That may not be realistic, so avoiding as much interest as possible is the next step. That can be done by paying more than the minimum due. Another way is to use balance transfers offered by other company credit cards. Those transfers should offer little or no interest for a specified time, and any costs should be less than what the current card is offering. Calling the credit card company and requesting a reduction in interest is always another good idea.