Debt Payoff Calculator
See how long it takes to crush your debt and how much interest you'll save by paying more each month.
| Month | Payment | Principal | Interest | Remaining |
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How debt payoff really works.
When you carry a balance, interest accrues every month on whatever you still owe. If you only make the minimum payment, most of that money goes toward interest — barely touching the actual debt. That's how a $5,000 credit card balance can cost you $3,000+ in interest and take over a decade to pay off.
The good news? Even paying $50–100 extra per month can dramatically cut your timeline. Early in your payoff journey, most of your payment goes to interest. But as the balance shrinks, more of each payment chips away at the principal — this is the interest-to-principal shift that accelerates your progress over time.
The math is simple: every dollar above the monthly interest charge goes directly to reducing your balance. The higher your payment, the faster this snowball rolls.