Credit Card Minimum Payment Trap
The minimum payment falls as your balance falls. That single design detail is what stretches a card balance out for a decade, and this shows you exactly how much it costs.
Balance over time
How this is calculated
Why the minimum keeps you there
A credit card minimum is not a fixed amount. It is normally a small percentage of the balance plus that month's interest, with a dollar floor. The consequence is easy to miss: as the balance falls, the required payment falls with it.
So the debt shrinks quickly at first and then slower and slower, like a curve approaching zero without arriving. Paying the same amount every month instead, at the size of that first minimum held constant, typically clears the same balance in a fraction of the time.
Some cards use a flat percentage with no interest component. On a high-APR card that structure can barely exceed the monthly interest: 2% of the balance against a 22.9% APR (1.91% a month) retires 0.09% of the balance a month, which does not pay off in any meaningful timeframe. Switch the structure above to see it.
Worked example. $5,000 at 22.9%, minimum of 1% plus interest, starts at about $145 a month and takes over a decade. Holding that same $145 fixed clears it in about four years and saves thousands in interest.
Educational content only, not financial advice. Consult a qualified professional before making financial decisions.