Hit $5,000 in credit card debt and didn't even flinch until I saw the interest charge

I've been carrying a balance on my Visa for about two years now, just paying the minimum every month. Last month I checked my statement and saw I paid $87 in interest on a balance of $5,200. That's basically a full tank of gas that I just handed to the bank for nothing. It hit me different because I've been telling myself I'm handling it fine since I'm not missing payments. But $87 a month adds up to over a thousand a year just for the privilege of owing money. That number made me finally look at how long it would actually take to pay off at minimum payments. Turns out it would be like 15 years and cost me over $4,000 extra in interest. Has anyone else had a moment where a single number on a statement made them change their whole plan?

3 comments

3 Comments

jakeb8121d ago

Man, $87 a month for nothing. That's brutal. Minimum payments are a trap if you let them run too long. You need a snowball plan yesterday or that $4k is gone for good.

river95221d ago

Yeah, totally. @jakeb81 is right about that. Minimum payments can really sneak up on you if you aren't careful. Hope you find a way to get it handled before it gets worse.

the_hayden21d agoMost Upvoted

Used to think minimum payments were fine as long as you were on time, but seeing it broken down like that definitely changed my mind.