According to Wikipedia “An interest rate is the amount of interest due per period, as a proportion of the amount lent, deposited, or borrowed”. What that means is that when you need money to buy something for example, a house or a car, you can borrow money from the bank and then pay them back the money, throghout a certain period of time, including intrest (a percantage of the money that you owe the bank). Not all interest rates are the same. They vary depending on what the loan is for, the amount of the loan, and the length of the loan. The rates also change based on the lenders. The currrent interest rate for a home is 4.625%. The current interest rate for a new car in Illinois in 2025 is between 3% and 4.5%. The current student loans for 2025-2026 are between 6.39% and 8.94%. The current interest rate for a credit card in 2025 is 22.64%. Interest rates are frequently changing, one of the big reasons that this is the case is because of the economy. Some of the factors that contribute to the rising and falling of inflation rates are the economy and inflation. One reason that interest rates differ from loan to loan is because of how long it takes to pay back the loan. A mortgage takes 15-30 years to pay back while a car loan only takes 3-6 years to pay back. The average time it takes to pay back student loans is 20 years. In conclusion I think it is important to understand that there are time when it is necessary to take out a loan to purchase a large item like a house, but it is also important to shop around to get the best interest possible.