http://www.federalreserve.gov/creditcardcalculator/Default.aspx
The Federal Reserve can offer you more than just (theoretically) keep your bank in line. The Fed's Credit Card Repayment Calculator can give you the cold, hard facts on exactly how long you'll be trapped in your credit card's clutches.
Enter in how much you're carrying in balance on your plastic and the maximum interest rate off your bill. You'll get back numbers detailing exactly how long it would take to pay back that amount if you made only the minimum payments, along with how much you've paid in interest. Don't do that, of course—scroll down a bit to be more specific. Enter a number of years you want to take to pay off that debt, in fractions if necessary. Alternately, you can type in an amount you can pay each month and the Fed's calculator explains how long that will take, along with, of course, the depressing amount of interest.
The golden rule, of course, is to avoid getting into credit card debt at all costs. But if hardships or other mishaps brought you to your plastic dispenser's door, do what the Consumer Reports bloggers suggest: gather up your cards, figure out which have the highest interest rates and finance charges, then put as much money as you can toward wiping them out, while keeping up with at least minimum payments on the lower-interest cards.
The Federal Reserve can offer you more than just (theoretically) keep your bank in line. The Fed's Credit Card Repayment Calculator can give you the cold, hard facts on exactly how long you'll be trapped in your credit card's clutches.
Enter in how much you're carrying in balance on your plastic and the maximum interest rate off your bill. You'll get back numbers detailing exactly how long it would take to pay back that amount if you made only the minimum payments, along with how much you've paid in interest. Don't do that, of course—scroll down a bit to be more specific. Enter a number of years you want to take to pay off that debt, in fractions if necessary. Alternately, you can type in an amount you can pay each month and the Fed's calculator explains how long that will take, along with, of course, the depressing amount of interest.
The golden rule, of course, is to avoid getting into credit card debt at all costs. But if hardships or other mishaps brought you to your plastic dispenser's door, do what the Consumer Reports bloggers suggest: gather up your cards, figure out which have the highest interest rates and finance charges, then put as much money as you can toward wiping them out, while keeping up with at least minimum payments on the lower-interest cards.
