F
12

I used to think paying the minimum on my card was fine, but a $2,000 balance in Louisville proved me wrong.

I had a card with a $2,000 balance and was just paying the $40 minimum each month for almost a year. I finally ran the numbers and saw I'd be paying on it for over a decade. I switched to putting $200 a month toward it instead, and it'll be gone in under a year. Has anyone else had a specific balance that made them change their payment plan?
3 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In
3 Comments
the_paul
the_paul2mo ago
That "over a decade" part is a real gut punch, huh?
6
kimfisher
kimfisher2mo ago
Man, that Louisville story hits home... I had a similar wake-up call with a $1,500 balance on a store card. Just kept chipping away at the minimum, thinking it was fine. Then I saw how much was going to interest... it felt like throwing money away. @the_thomas asked what balance makes you get serious, and for me it was that one. I started putting any extra cash toward it, even just an extra fifty bucks here and there, and it changed everything. It's crazy how those small payments barely touch the real problem.
5
the_thomas
the_thomas2mo ago
What balance finally made you get serious about paying it off?
2