Jacqueline DeMarco

Interest rates: Interest rates are expressed as a percentage of the loan’s principal amount. The higher the interest rate, the more it’ll cost to borrow.
Fees and charges: Depending on the lender you work with, you may have to pay a variety of fees when taking out a loan. Common fees include loan application fees, origination fees , late fees, and prepayment fees.
Loan term: Your loan term is the amount of time you have to repay it . Generally, lenders offer a range of terms to choose from. Most lenders offer terms from 1 to 7 years. The longer the term, the more it’ll incur in interest — and the more you’ll end up paying.

Expert on credit cards and student loans.
Work has appeared on The Balance, Newsweek Vault, Student Loan Hero, Bankrate, and USA TODAY Blueprint.

Bio and experience

Jacqueline DeMarco is a California-based freelance writer who has more than seven years of experience covering personal finance, with expertise on credit cards, budgeting, banking, student loans, and insurance.

Her professional background includes managing editor at M Loves M, copywriting consultant at St. Johns Knits, and contributing writer at The Everygirl and The Everymom. Jacqueline has also been a contributing writer for Credit Karma, Bankrate, Newsweek, and Fortune.

Her financial expertise is featured at NerdWallet, SoFi, Student Loan Hero, USA TODAY Blueprint, Investopedia, the New York Post, MediaFeed, Yahoo Finance, BiggerPockets, MSN, The Balance, NewsBreak, CreditCards.com, and ValuePenguin.