$5/mo Never Pays Off This Balance
At $5/month, this payment doesn't even cover the interest on this balance — increase your payment to make progress.
How This Works
Each month, interest accrues on the remaining balance, and whatever's left of your payment reduces the principal. If your payment barely exceeds (or doesn't exceed) the monthly interest charge, payoff takes a very long time or never happens at all.
Formula
Example
A $5,000 balance at 22% APR paid down at $150/month takes about 3 years 10 months and costs roughly $1,900 in interest.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long to pay off $10,000 at $5/month?
This payment doesn't cover the monthly interest, so the balance will never be paid off at this rate.
Why does paying only the minimum take so long?
Minimum payments are often set low (a small percentage of the balance), so most of the payment goes to interest early on, dragging out payoff time and total cost significantly.