means the unpaid (outstanding) amount that you owe your credit provider.

the debt owed by the borrower to the credit provider. For example, when you get your credit card statement, the closing balance is the total amount owed by the due date. If you pay only the minimum payment due, you will have an outstanding balance.

is the sum of your income minus the sum of your expenses over a defined period. When you work out your budget, you can see if your outgoings are greater than your incomings.

advance – a loan taken out on a line of credit or credit-card. Generally, cash advances do not have an interest-free period and so the borrower will usually incur interest charges from the first day of the cash advance until the day that it is repaid in full. Sometimes the interest rate for cash advances is higher than the interest rate that applie [..]

an agreement between the credit provider and borrower that sets out the ‘terms and conditions’ of the loan (see also ‘contract’).

 is a type of refinancing that usually means getting a new loan to pay out a number of other loans.

is a legally binding agreement between two or more parties to do, or to refrain from doing, a particular thing in exchange for something of value. The banker–customer relationship is contractual. Regardless of which banking products or services you use, you’ll enter into one or more contracts with your bank.

is a form of loan that allows you to obtain goods or services before you actually pay for them, but this deferred debt must be repaid within an agreed timeframe and includes an interest payment. Typical forms of credit include credit cards, personal loans, overdrafts and home loans.

enables a cardholder to access a revolving credit facility to make purchases now for goods and services, and pay later. The cardholder can use the card to make transactions up to a set credit limit.

business that provides you with credit and is sometimes called a ‘lender’.