"Financial education needs to become a part of our national curriculum and scoring systems so that it’s not just the rich kids that learn about money.. it’s all of us." David Bach.
As this quote clearly identifies, understanding the ins and outs of all the fragments that make up financial concepts is a necessity. According to wisegeek.com a finance fee is, "any additional fee added to the original amount of a loan can be called a finance charge. This definition of finance charge includes the interest added to the balance, service fees for transactions, late fees, and balance transfer fees".
Another way to think of finance charges is to pay rent for borrowing the money. If you were to make consistent and on time payments on the borrowed money (account) each month, than you would not be charged that month's rent (finance charge). However, if you missed or were late on a payment, the rent money (finance charge) would be tagged onto your borrowed money (account). So in other words, you are paying to use money and that amount increases each time you miss a payment or are late.
