Plan your credit card debt payoff
Tip: Paying $50 more monthly can save you $0 in interest!
The calculator uses an iterative approach to determine payoff time: each month, interest is added to the balance (Balance × Monthly Rate), then your payment is subtracted. This continues until the balance reaches zero. Total interest is the sum of all monthly interest charges.
Credit card debt is expensive with typical APRs of 18-25%. Making only minimum payments can take decades to pay off and cost thousands in interest. A structured payoff plan can save you significant money and stress.
The calculator shows months to payoff, total interest paid, and total amount paid. The "Interest Saved" feature compares your plan to paying only minimum payments (typically 2% of balance), showing the value of paying extra.
Pay more than the minimum whenever possible. Consider balance transfer cards with 0% intro APR. Use the avalanche method (pay highest rate first) or snowball method (pay smallest balance first). Avoid adding new charges while paying off debt.
The time to pay off a credit card depends on your balance, interest rate, and monthly payment amount. For example, a $5,000 balance at 20% APR with a $150 monthly payment takes about 44 months (nearly 4 years) to pay off, costing over $1,500 in interest. Making only the minimum payment (typically 2% of balance) on that same debt could take over 30 years. Use our calculator to find your exact payoff timeline.
The avalanche method prioritizes paying off the debt with the highest interest rate first while making minimum payments on others, saving you the most money in total interest. The snowball method focuses on paying off the smallest balance first for quick psychological wins that keep you motivated. Mathematically, the avalanche method is more efficient, but the snowball method has a higher success rate because of the motivational boost from eliminating individual debts faster.
Minimum payments are typically only 1-3% of your balance, which barely covers the monthly interest charge. This means most of your payment goes to interest rather than reducing your debt. A $5,000 balance at 20% APR with minimum payments could take over 30 years to pay off and cost more than $10,000 in interest alone -- more than double the original balance. Paying even $50-100 above the minimum can dramatically reduce both payoff time and total interest.