Debt Payoff Tracker

The card

Card

Starting balance

APR

Fixed monthly payment

Months to clear

Total interest

Target clear date

Statement date

Every payment — the balance column is the point

The arithmetic

Monthly rate r

APR / 1200 — so 22.9% gives r = 0.019083

This month's interest

r x balance

Months

-ln(1 - r x balance / payment) / ln(1 + r)

At 0% APR

balance / payment

Total interest

total paid - starting balance

⚠ Payment must exceed

r x balance, or the balance GROWS

Assumes

fixed payment, fixed APR, NO new spending

Things that change the answer

• Stop using the card - new spending moves the finish line every month
• Pay a FIXED amount, not the shrinking minimum
• Pay more than the interest figure, by a clear margin
• Check for a promotional rate that has quietly expired
• Ask for a lower APR - it costs a phone call and sometimes works
• Highest-rate card first if you have several, or smallest balance if you need the wins
• Anything unexpected goes at the balance, not the balance's interest
• Re-run the numbers after any change so the date stays real

The number that matters is this month's interest

Total interest over three years is easy to nod at and hard to feel. The interest inside your NEXT payment is concrete: it is the part of the money you are about to hand over that will not reduce what you owe by a single dollar. That figure is what usually changes what people do.

Not financial advice

General information to help you see the arithmetic. Rates, fees and how payments are allocated across balances vary by card and by agreement - your statement and cardholder agreement are the authority. If debt is unmanageable, a non-profit credit counselling service will do more than a calculator can.