eli5: what’s 19.9% APR Representative if I’m buying a phone?

Question

I’m looking to buy a phone for £700 and it says

* **19.9% APR Representative**

Is this money i have to add onto the 700 quid to give to the company? I’m trying to pay it off over the course of 12-24 months.

**Representative example**
You could borrow **£699.00** over **24** **months** with 24 monthly repayments of **£34.99**. The total amount repayable will be **£839.76**.

Idk what this means (i’m a teenager if it wasn’t clear), like why am i borrowing?

Any help is appreciated.

In: 2

Answer 1

I know you want an explanation, not advice, but fuck it.

Don’t buy a phone with term payments. Either buy a shitty phone you can afford now, or save up to buy the good one in a few months. You’re a teenager, start building good habits now. They’ll last. It’s not worth it spending an extra ~20% over 2 years.