Why is the minimum balance the same as my finance charge?

I'm a little puzzled. I currently have a credit card and I paid off the entire balance. Today I received my statement in the mail and it shows a new balance of $9.33 with $0.00 in transaction. They do show a finance charge of $9.33 though. Can somebody explain why I'm paying a finance charge if I made zero transactions since my payment? Thanks for the help.

Why is the minimum balance the same as my finance charge?
Ah, I know this. You've been slapped with the "residual interest."





Although you paid off the amount in your statement -- and congratulations for doing that -- a certain period of time elapsed between date of the statement and the day they got your check.





During that period, interest continued to accrue, and you owe it. What the credit card company hopes is that you go "Heck, I paid this off" and throw the statement in the can. But you're smarter than that.





You have two paths.





1. Call the number on the back of your card. Ask the customer service rep ... and then the rep's supervisor ... and then the supervisor's supervisor ... to figure out the exact amount you will owe 10 days from now, and write a check for that amount.





2. Write a check for $15 -- well over what you owe -- and have fun for months as they bill you over and over for negative $1.76! I made that $1.76 number up, but you get the idea.





You'll have the satisfaction of knowing you can't mess up your credit, and they're wasting money month after month sending you a bill for a negative amount.