When planning investments, understanding how returns are calculated is often the first step. While markets and instruments ...

Knowing your loan's interest rate matters, as does learning how that rate is calculated. Interest is either simple or compound. Are Personal Loans a Good or Bad Idea? Taking out a personal loan can ...

Discover how simple interest benefits borrowers in car loans and consumer purchases, and learn why it might not be ideal for ...

Julia Kagan is a financial/consumer journalist and former senior editor, personal finance, of Investopedia. Doretha Clemons, Ph.D., MBA, PMP, has been a corporate IT executive and professor for 34 ...

Interest is the amount of money you must pay to borrow money in addition to the loan's principal. It's also the amount you are paid over time when you deposit money in a savings account or certificate ...

A simple interest loan calculates the interest based only on the principal you owe. It stands in contrast to a compound interest loan, which calculates interest based on principal and any outstanding ...

Simple interest calculates earnings or payments based solely on the initial principal, while compound interest grows by calculating interest on both the principal and the accumulated interest over ...

Simple interest is paid only on the principal, e.g., a $10,000 investment at 5% yields $500 annually. Compound interest accumulates on both principal and past interest, increasing total returns over ...