Estimate how long it may take to pay off debt with a fixed monthly payment.
Enter realistic assumptions, run the estimate, then test a higher and lower scenario. Small changes to rates, time, and payments can change the result significantly.
When you make a monthly payment on a debt, part of it covers the interest that accrued since your last payment, and the rest reduces your principal balance. In the early months of a high-APR loan, a large share of each payment goes to interest rather than the balance. As the balance decreases, more of each payment goes toward principal, and payoff accelerates.
The minimum payment trap is a real phenomenon with revolving debt like credit cards. Minimums are often set so low (1–3% of the balance) that barely any principal is being paid down each month. A $5,000 balance at 22% APR with a $100 monthly payment will take over 8 years to pay off and cost more than $4,500 in interest alone — nearly doubling the original debt.
Increasing your payment by even a small amount — $25 or $50 per month — can shave years off your payoff timeline and save hundreds or thousands in interest. Use the calculator above to test different payment scenarios.