Debt

Minimum Credit Card Payments Explained

If you only made the minimum payment due on your credit card balance, how long do you think it would take for you to pay off that debt?
couple looking at credit card bills
By Susan Barnes
Updated on: December 8th, 2022

couple looking at credit card billsWhen it comes to your credit card debt, how long do you think it would take it pay it off if you only made the minimum monthly payments? It’s easy to fall into making the minimum payments. After all, it’s a lower amount. And if you make automatic payments electronically, that monthly payment becomes almost invisible due to how it’s instantly transferred from your bank account to the credit card company.

So how long would it take you to pay down your credit card debit by only paying the minimum due?

This video from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) puts paying only the credit card minimum into simple terms using the example of a $300 air conditioner that takes two years to pay off. Here’s why it’s worth watching: when it’s put simply, it drives home how minimum payments can take longer to pay than you might expect (and increase the long-term cost of what seemed like a small purchase at the time).