Debt Payoff Calculator
Your escape date from any balance, at any payment.
Minimum payments are designed to keep you in debt as long as possible. Enter your balance, APR and monthly payment to see exactly when you'll be debt-free and how much interest you'll pay. Then try a slightly bigger payment — the time and money you save is usually shocking.
How it's calculated
The balance is amortized month by month: each month's interest is added, then your payment is subtracted, until the balance hits zero. If the payment doesn't cover monthly interest, the debt never shrinks.
Frequently asked questions
What if my payment only covers the interest?
Then the balance never drops — you're treading water forever. The calculator will flag this: you must pay more than the monthly interest charge (balance × APR ÷ 12) to make any progress.
Should I pay the highest-APR debt first?
Mathematically yes — that's the avalanche method, and it minimizes total interest. The snowball method (smallest balance first) costs a bit more but gives quicker wins that keep people motivated.
How much do extra payments really save?
A lot, because early payments kill principal that would have generated interest for years. On a $5,000 balance at 18%, raising the payment from $150 to $200 cuts the payoff from 47 months to 32 and saves roughly $670 in interest.