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What they said · Credit cards

“The minimum payment is only $75.”

A $3,000 balance at 24.99%, paying a fixed $75 a month and adding nothing new.

How many months until it is gone?

40 months
1 month120 months
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The real number

87 months

It takes 87 months.

Your guess—
The real figure87 months

7.3 years, and $3,513 in interest on a $3,000 balance. You pay $6,513 in all.

Why so much?

Why

At first, most of each $75 is interest.

Your first $75
  • $62 interest
  • $13 off the balance

A real card minimum shrinks as the balance falls, which stretches the payoff further still.

The last payment

$63, in month 87.

Show me one move

One move

Double it.

$75 a month

87months
$3,513interest

$150 a month

27months
$921interest

Gone 60 months sooner. $2,592 less in interest.

Assumes a steady rate and no new charges. The statement's own minimum-payment warning box shows the real timeline.

Try it with my numbers

Now yours

Your card, your payment.

Paid off in 87 months (7.3 years). Interest in all: $3,513.

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The whole story, as text

“The minimum payment is only $75.” How long is that?

“The minimum payment is only $75.” A $3,000 balance at 24.99%, paying a fixed $75 a month and adding nothing new. How many months until it is gone?

The answer

87 months. 7.3 years, and $3,513 in interest on a $3,000 balance. You pay $6,513 in all.

Why

At first, most of each $75 is interest. $62 interest, $13 off the balance. A real card minimum shrinks as the balance falls, which stretches the payoff further still. The last payment: $63, in month 87.

One move

Double it. $75 a month: 87 months, $3,513 interest. $150 a month: 27 months, $921 interest. Gone 60 months sooner. $2,592 less in interest. Assumes a steady rate and no new charges. The statement's own minimum-payment warning box shows the real timeline.

Since 2010 card statements must show how long minimum payments take and what paying it off in three years would cost. Look for the box; it is the same arithmetic.

Yours

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Written and reviewed by Riverbend Crossroads Digital LLC, Friday, October 2, 2026. Figures from the Show Real Cost engine, computed exactly and shown to the cent. Educational, not advice; your lender's disclosures are the authoritative figures. How we calculate · Corrections.