When applying or searching for a loan one of the most important components o the loan is the APR rate which is the Annual Percentage Rate. This is the rate of interest that you will be paying back on the money that you borrow. It is important that when looking for a loan that you do a comparison of this APR rate because the difference in even a fraction of a point can mean big savings to you over the life of the loan.

If you have a APR rate of 8% and you are borrowing $10,000 then every year you will be paying 8% of your balance and this can be very costly when you have a high rate. It is usually computed on a monthly basis when making your payments monthly.

In some cases such as a mortgage you may also be paying a PMI rate which most lenders require if you do not have the traditional 20% down payment so it is important that when getting a loan that you check all factors involved so that you can put more money in your pocket rather than the banks.

It is always to your advantage that when you are paying back a loan to send in an extra payment even if it is a small amount that goes directly to the principle or balance of the loan. This will allow you to save a lot of money in interest and also will allow you to pay the loan off faster.

Remember that when obtaining a loan you must compare APR rate and find the lowest rate for your loan so that you save money over the life of the loan.