Individuals and families have checking accounts, savings accounts, credit cards, and bills, so people make budgets to determine how much money they are making and spending. Businesses do the same thing. Countries, such as the United States, also use a budget to keep close track of their finances. The study of money and where it is going and where it came from is called economics. The economy is the system through which money circulates. Economists are the people who study the movement of money through the economy. By looking at economic indicators (which are features of the economy that are represented in numbers) economists make predictions about the potential strengths and weaknesses in the economy. Economic indicators give economists valuable insights into a country's financial standing.

Interest rates on credit cards vary from lender to lender and from person to person, depending on one's credit history...