No. 006 — Finance
Credit Card Payoff Calculator
Find out how many months it takes to pay off a balance, and how much interest you'll pay along the way.
How this calculator works
Each month, this tool adds interest to your current balance (APR ÷ 12), then subtracts your fixed monthly payment, repeating until the balance reaches zero. This mirrors how revolving credit card debt actually compounds — unlike an installment loan, there's no fixed end date built in, so the payoff time depends entirely on how much you pay above the interest charge each month.
Frequently asked
- Why does my payment need to be higher than the interest charge?
- If your payment doesn't exceed that month's interest, the balance won't shrink and can grow indefinitely.
- How does credit card interest actually get charged?
- Most issuers charge interest based on average daily balance using APR ÷ 12 as the monthly rate. This tool uses a simplified monthly version of the same idea.