subject: Credit Card Debt Pay-Off Calculator Information-Gathering Checklist - 3 Items [print this page] If you are no stranger to carrying lots of high-interest credit card debt around everywhere you go, you know how it can feel. Having to shoulder tens of thousands of dollars in credit card debt can almost create a physical sensation of burden on your body. It is as if there is an invisible, but very real, weight pressing down.
Wouldn't it be great to be free of all of that debt? Most people in your situation would! Trouble is, different people go about paying down their credit card debt in very different ways. Some just pay the minimum payment due on each card each month, then periodically throw some additional money at the card balances when they can. Unfortunately, using this method of debt reduction will likely get you nowhere since it lacks all semblance of a consistent plan.
A better way is to figure out just how much money you will need to make in minimum payments on each card in order to get your debt paid down completely within your target time frame.
A credit card debt pay-off calculator can help you figure out just how much you will need to make in minimum payments each month on each card in order to become debt-free by a certain date. In order to use such a calculator, here are 3 items of information you will need to gather:
1. The details of all of your current credit cards:
First, sit down and write out your current credit card balance, interest rate, and minimum monthly payments due on each card.
2. An idea of when you would like to be debt-free:
Now, based upon your or your family's financial plan, decide how many months from now you would like to ideally be debt-free.
3. Decide what you want the calculator to tell you:
Good debt pay-off calculators will give you various options for what you want the calculator to tell you. The most common options are:
a. If I just stick with my minimum payments, when will I be debt free and how much will I ultimately pay (in interest and principal)?
b. If I make total fixed monthly payments of X amount each month (total across all cards), how soon can I be out of debt?
c. If I want to be debt-free within Y number of months, how much will I need to pay each month?
Prepare these 3 informational items and then logon to a good get-out-of-debt calculator. Doing so will help you plan a clear road to your own financial freedom.
