Good example! It is truly crazy how high credit card interest is.

A $3,000 debt at a $60 a month minimum payment with a 15% interest rate (I'm being kind) will take you 16 years to pay off. At end of that term, you will have paid nearly $3,700 in interest. This puts your $3,000 debt now at $6,700. This in turn takes your 15% interest rate and makes it more than 200%.

Yeah, I'll get right on that.

It's smart to pay more than the minimum due. It's also smart to stop using the cards while you are trying to pay them down. It would take a very long time to pay them off if you only pay the minimum.

Paying more than the minimum is a must if you ever really want to get the thing paid off. Even with cards that have a low credit limit, if you're maxed with a $500 balance and the minimum payment is $30, you really need to try to at least double that to get it paid off in a reasonable amount of time.

Always Always pay more than the minimum if at all possible. Credit Cards are one of the worst loans out there. Interest rates are awful. Do not set that habit if you can. I always pay off my credit card balance in full if I am capable off doing so.

This is really great information. I've always tried to make more than the minimum payment, even though, there have been times when it wasn't possible. I would rather not end up paying more than I purchased.

good info. thanks

6/17/2009

Yup, on my Chase Freedom... I charge my electric, cell phone, cable and gas and groceries... Then I pay the charges. Since I have a cking with them I get 3% back on my top 5 categories instead of the normal 3.

That is what I am doing now!

This is a great post ! One thing that works for me is online banking and transferring money from your checking to your Credit Card Acct. You can go out and by gas, groceries, etc.., pay for them with your credit card and then go home and transfer money from your checking to your Credit Card acct to pay for your expenses. You stack up the reward points and at the same time show serveral payments to your credit card in one billing cycle.

Excellent information to have. I appreciate your post!!!

Rockin35!

Credit cards give you the convenience of paying just a small percentage of your balance each month. This minimum payment is easier to make, but can come at a higher cost. Here are a few reasons you should pay more than the minimum on your credit card.
1. Save Money

When you make the minimum payment, you end up paying more money in finance charges. You could save hundreds, possibly even thousands, in finance charges by increasing your monthy credit card payments.
2. Pay It Off Sooner

Not only do you pay more in interest, you also end up paying over a longer period of time. It would take more than 20 years to pay off a $5,000 credit card balance (at 14% APR) when you only make minimum payments.
3. Improve Your Credit Score

If your credit card balance is high relative to your credit limit, it costs precious credit score points. Minimum payments only decrease your balance a little at a time. You'll typically see a credit score increase when you bring your balance down sooner with higher payments. The Credit Score Calculation

4. Get Ready For a Mortgage

If you plan to make a home or other large credit purchase in the near future, you'll probably need to pay off some debt to qualify for a loan. Unless your balance is already very low, minimum payments won't get you there fast enough. Raise your payments to pay off credit card balances before you make an application for a large loan.
5. Make Room For More

There might be a time when you need to make a charge with your credit card. If your balance is slowly decreasing because you're only paying the minimum, you'll have to come up with another way to make the purchase