Credit Card Monthly Statement

Every month you get a statement from your credit card company. It is chock full of information and it is a good idea to go over them carefully every month to look for errors or increases in your rates. The 5 main items are 1) your balance last month, 2) what you bought this month, 3) what you paid or were credited this month, 4) what your ending balance is, and 5) what your minimum payment is for this month.

• Previous Balance
  The amount you owed at the end of last month.
• Purchases
  What you bought and charged on the card during the month.
• Payments
  The amount you paid against last months balance.
• Credits
  Any amount refunded to your card from merchants or the card company for any number of reasons
  
  
  
  
• Finance charge
  The amount of interest charged this period.
• Late charges
  Any penalties for late or missed payments.
• Minimum amount due
  The amount you must pay prior to the due date (always pay more than this )
• Payment Due Date
  The date your payment must be received to avoid a penalty.
• Average Daily Balance
  The total of the month’s balance divided by the number of days in the billing cycle. Frequently used as a basis for finance charges
• Closing Date
  The last day of the billing period.
• Credit Line
  The total amount your card holder says you can borrow
• Cash Advance Limit
  The amount of cash you can borrow off your card
• New balance
  the amount you owe as of the new statement
• Available Credit Line
  the amount that was available at the beginning of the new billing period
• Available Cash Limit
  The most cash you could have borrowed at the beginning of the billing period