Using It

• The basic type of credit card debt reduction calculator (see Resources section) allows the user to input his or her balance, interest rate and minimum monthly payment. It then tells the consumer how long it will take to get out of debt staying with the current plan and how much will be spent repaying the card.
  
  

Saving Money

• A credit card debt reduction calculator allows consumers to see how much money and time they can save by adding just a few dollars a month to their minimum card payment. Users can then decide what small changes they can make, such as giving up one Diet Coke a week, to put the plan into action.
  
  

Sample Results

• A hypothetical $1,000 credit card balance at 18 percent interest would take 12 years and 8 months to repay by using the $25 a month minimum payment and would cost the user $1,115.41 in interest. By adding $1 per month to the payment, it will take 4 years and 10 months to pay off the credit card and only cost $502.20 in interest.
  
  

Compounding Results

• The same credit card noted in "Sample Results" could be paid off in 4 years and 4 months, costing $442.98 in interest, by increasing the monthly payment to $28. Even better results could be obtained by making a fixed monthly payment of $30, which would allow the consumer to be debt-free in 3 years and 11 months, spending $396.72 in interest.
  
  

Making It Work

• A credit card debt reduction calculator will only work if the consumer does not charge anything else on his or her card. Otherwise, the cycle of uncontrollable debt and continuous repayment will only continue.
  
  

Other Options

• Those who have multiple cards and cannot add much to their minimum payments could try to increase payments on one or two cards. People who are unable to make their payments at all cannot benefit from a credit card debt reduction calculator and may need to consider credit counseling or even bankruptcy, depending on their financial situation.