Borrowing is easy. Knowing what it will cost you isn't.

Borrowing has never been easier. A tap at the checkout, an overdraft left over from your student account, monthly payments on a car. Every kind of borrowing is tempting, especially when the problem in front of you is this month's latest bill.

But are you clear on the costs? And on what happens if you can't keep up the repayments?

These pages answer both, for most of the main ways people borrow. It's done simply, with the working shown, and without telling you what to do. Just the facts.

Here are the links that will give you more confidence when it comes to borrowing money:

• Seven main ways to borrow: what each is for, how it works, what it costs, and what can go wrong.
• Borrowing money in real life: everyday situations, and the kinds of borrowing people typically use for them.
• Interest, and what APR actually means: why the monthly payment and the total cost tell different stories.
• Credit scores and your credit file: what's on your file, who sees it, and how to see yours for free.
• Risks and warning signs: the patterns that turn borrowing into a problem.

Information, not advice

You know your situation. This site doesn't. So every kind of borrowing here is laid out the same way, and none of them is ranked above another. I want you to gain knowledge here so that you make informed, good decisions for yourself.

I don't name lenders and I don't link to them. No affiliate links so I don't make money off the back of your decisions.

But if borrowing is already worrying you, go straight to If it's getting on top of you. Free, confidential debt advice exists, and you don't need to be in crisis to use it.

Here I focus on personal borrowing, not a business's

Borrowing for a business, as a company or a sole trader, plays by different rules and deserves its own explanation. If the debt is your business's and it's worrying you, Business Debtline is the free service set up for exactly that.