Installment payment, credit

Where the pitfalls of buying on credit are hidden

If you reach your financial limits, you have several options. Simply going overdrawn is usually not advisable.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com/deagreez)

The ice box is broken, the car isn't running smoothly or new furniture is urgently needed - if you don't have enough money at the moment, consumer credit or installment payments can help. But beware: the devil is often in the detail, and the differences in costs can be huge.

To make sure you don't fall into the cost trap, we asked Florian Reichert, head of the comparison portal Check 24, to explain what the different loans mean and what is always a bad idea.