The minimum payment is designed to keep you there
Credit card minimums are usually around 2% of your balance. That sounds reasonable until you look at what it does: on a $6,000 balance at 22.9% APR, your first minimum payment is about $120 — and roughly $114 of it is interest. You paid $120 and your debt went down by six dollars.
Worse, the minimum shrinks as the balance shrinks, so the payments get smaller exactly when you need them to stay big. Paying only the minimum on that card takes well over a decade and costs more in interest than the original balance. That's not an accident — it's the business model.
The fix is boringly simple: pay a fixed amount every month and never let it drop. Even a modest fixed payment beats a shrinking minimum by years.
How the math works
Notice what happens if P is less than B × r — the payment is smaller than the monthly interest — the logarithm has no solution, because the debt genuinely never gets paid off. The calculator detects that case and tells you directly instead of showing a nonsense number.
What actually gets people out
- Fix the payment amount. Decide on a number and pay it every month regardless of what the statement's minimum says.
- Stop using the card. You cannot outrun new spending. Freeze it, remove it from saved payment methods, whatever it takes.
- Attack the highest APR first if you have several cards — see the debt payoff planner.
- Ask for a lower rate. Calling and asking works more often than people expect, especially with a good payment history. It costs one phone call.
- Consider a balance transfer or consolidation loan only if you'll actually clear it during the promo period — and check the fee.
The one-line version: at 22.9% APR, every $1,000 you carry costs about $19 a month in pure interest. Nothing you bought is worth renting money at that price — which is why clearing card debt usually beats every investment you're considering.
A realistic plan beats a perfect one
Use the "debt-free in 12 / 24 / 36 months" buttons above. They solve the equation backwards — telling you the payment required to hit a deadline. Pick the one you can genuinely sustain, set it up as an automatic transfer on payday, and let the math do the rest.
Frequently asked questions
How long will it take to pay off my credit card?
It depends on three numbers: your balance, your APR and how much you pay each month. Enter them above and the calculator solves for the exact number of months, along with the total interest you will pay along the way.
Why do minimum payments take so long?
Minimum payments are usually about 2% of the balance, and a large part of that goes straight to interest. As the balance drops, the minimum drops too, so you pay less and less each month. On a high-APR card this can stretch a few thousand dollars into decades of payments.
What happens if my payment is less than the interest?
The balance grows every month even though you are paying. This is the debt spiral. The calculator flags it: you need to pay more than the monthly interest charge before any progress is possible at all.
Should I use a balance transfer card?
If you qualify for a 0% introductory offer and can clear most of the balance during the promotional window, it can save a lot of interest. Watch two things: the transfer fee (typically 3–5% of the balance) and the rate after the promo ends. A transfer only helps if you stop adding new purchases to the card.
Which debt should I pay first if I have several?
Mathematically, always the highest interest rate first — that is the avalanche method. Our debt payoff planner simulates all your debts together and compares avalanche against the snowball method month by month.