Credit Card Payoff Calculator
Use this free credit card payoff calculator to find out how long it'll take to pay off your debt. See how different scenarios affect payoff time and interest.
With Christmas, birthdays, car repairs, house maintenance, and all of the other expenses that sneak up throughout the year, you can easily and quickly accrue a hefty credit card balance.
The tough part happens -- deciding how you can tackle it.
What happens if you stick to the minimum payment? How much of a difference would adding more each month make? What can you afford each month, and how much is enough to cut down on your interest charges?
Credit Card Payoff Calculator
Unless you’re a math whiz, you probably don’t want to go through the whole range of calculations on your own. Thankfully, there’s an easy-to-use calculator that can help you out with these calculations. You simply need to know the balance, interest rate, and either the monthly payment you’d like to make or when you’d like to pay off the balance. The calculator will do the rest of the work and give you an assessment.
Enter information about your current balance| Current Balance ($): | |
| APR (% Interest Rate): |
(Optional) To pay off your credit card balance sooner, fill out the fields below. Otherwise leave the fields blank, and we'll estimate how long you'll need to pay it if you only make the minimum payment:
| Specific monthly payment ($): | |
| - OR - | |
| Specific number of months: | |
(includes CreditDonkey® Payoff Chart to show how long it will take to get out of debt)
Create a Credit Card Payoff Plan
You need a plan to cut down your balance. Here are some factors to keep in mind:
- Need motivation to get started? Type in your balance, interest rate, and minimum payment into the calculator, and note how long it will take you to pay off your balance. Then try it again but this time add $50 to your minimum payment.
You’ll see that paying just a little money each month will get you debt free much faster (it will also save you big bucks when it comes to interest!).
- If you’re afraid of running out of cash each month, start off slowly and see what you can handle. Every month, increase how much you pay over the minimum balance. Over time, you could end up setting aside hundreds of dollars toward your credit card balance each month and making a serious dent in your debt.
- You may also want to consider finding a balance transfer credit card that has a promotional introductory rate. Some are as low as 0%. Be sure to read the fine print so you are aware of any balance transfer fees.
To estimate if it makes sense to do a balance transfer, visit our balance transfer calculator.
- If it’s tempting to continue using your credit cards, review your card terms and keep the card with the lowest interest rate in your wallet. Either hide the other ones or cut them up so you’re not tempted to add to those balances.
- Once you’re done paying off your credit card debt, try setting aside the same amount each month into a savings account. This will create a fund you can tap into for special purchases so you don’t have risk racking up interest charges again.
Once you put a payment plan in place, you’ll be surprised how easy it is to give up a bit of money each month. Before you know it, you’ll be debt free and accruing extra money in your savings.
