Perhaps you've decided that a UK pay day advance sounds like a sound option. You know that you'll pay them back in the stated time period (generally 14-30 days) and that you won't borrow more than what you immediately need. Even though you know this is a good solution, you may still be feeling apprehensive about pay advance borrowing. After all, finance lingo, math and economics were never your strong suit! Never fear – there are some basic terms you can familiarize yourself with before heading into the pay day advance office that will help you understand the agreement.

Your first step once inside the pay advance office is to fill out an application. This is where you will provide all the required information (name, place of employment, bank info, etc) needed to establish your profile. Be sure to read all information and ask questions if necessary.

Interest is the additional amount charged on the principal (or the amount actually borrowed). The trouble some people run into with loans – specifically student loans – is that until they pay off things like late fees, past due interest and collection costs, they cannot start paying down the principal amount owed. Interest is based upon a certain percentage of the principal, so for instance if you owe 1,000 and your interest rate is 25%, you will have to pay 250 in interest. However, if the principal amount owed is reduced to a third, you will only have $75 in interest due. Until you get down to that figure, the interest cannot decrease. One thing you definitely don't want is for your interest to accrue – meaning accumulate – so you'll want to be sure you can pay the amount borrowed straight away. Capitalization refers to unpaid accrued interest on your pay day advance or loan that has increased over time.

Repayment period is the amount of time you have to pay off your pay advance lender. Generally this is between 14-30 days and if you need an extension, you must request it. The worst thing you can do is ignore your repayment responsibilities and wait for the money to come in. While it's tempting to take the "out of sight, out of mind" approach, it's much easier to spend the 30 seconds to request an extension on your loan and pay a small flat fee – rather than helplessly watch your interest rate skyrocket from your negligence and pay a huge percentage.