<prompt> Human: Just as an example, if you have: - a 5,000 balance on a credit card - with a 20 interest rate, then- paying JUST the minimum lets say 3 of the balance, which is 150 for the first payment, - it would take 183 months thats 14 YEARS to pay off the card, and youd pay 5,601.51 in interest alone.This is because the Minimum Payment goes downs as the Balance goes down. THIS IS WHAT THE BANKS ARE HOPING YOU WILL DO!!So after making the first payment of 150, your next minimum payment is 148, then 146 in Month 3, etc.BUT, if you just keep a constant payment of 150, youll pay off the card in 48 months and spend 2,164 in interest.This will shave over 11 years off the time it takes to repay the card, and save you 3,437.51 in interest.Paying even a small amount over the minimum payment each month goes a long way.More examples:Paying 175month 25 extra cuts your payments down to 39 months and saves you 3,914.51 in interest.Paying 200month 50 extra cuts your payments down to 32 months and saves you 4,226.51 in interest.I know you hear this time and again here in PF, but paying the Minimum Payments is a Lifetime Debt Sentence.And paying extra each month gives you an emotional win that will help you keep moving forward.___EDIT 1:Of course, in a perfect world, no one would carry a balance on their credit cards, and would only use them to get Cash Back Rewards and Travel Points and Airline Miles and a date with Olivia Munn, but this post is geared towards people who are facing high balances already, and to show them that you CAN make serious progress by implementing one or two good strategies.EDIT 2: Wow, I definitely did not think this post would Jennifer Garner any attention. Get it?! Shes a shill for Capital Ones Venture Card! WHATS IN YOUR WALLET? Nevermind.EDIT 3:Thanks to everyone who upvoted, and especially to those who responded. Someone sent me a screenshot that this was on the Reddit Front Page last night, which I definitely didnt see coming since there isnt a video of a cat singing Youve Got a Friend In Me to a baby sloth anywhere in this thread. But seriously, this will brighten your dayI cant emphasize enough and I know its stickied right below this post, how important it is to read How to Handle 95 of what the average person needs to know is right there on that page.And while a lot of it seems like common knowledge as dozens of you have pointed out, for some people who were never guided properly in how to handle their financial life - it just isnt.In my opinion, just like Personal Relationships, Personal Finance is a very complex issue that often has rather simple solutions - you just have to see them, and then make the effort.Lets try to keep supporting each other - and reserve judgment whenever we can. You dont know what other people are going through, and comments like, u r all dumb I pay my cards every month and if u dont u need a brain transplant arent helping anyone.This is only one of MANY strategies that can be used to tackle debt, and it is only an example. In order to draw up the example, I had to pick some numbers, such as the balance, the APR, and the minimum payment . This example is actually not nearly as heinous as many Credit Cards out there, which have minimum payments that are much lower than 3, and all but trap you in a cycle of paying just enough to keep you card right near the limit.In those examples 14 years looks like no time at all.Here are the Online Calculators I used to find these numbers:Minimum Payment CalculatorSnowball CalculatorI encourage you to plug in your numbers and see how they change based on different payments.Assistant: Heres a painless way to put this into action, if you already have a balance on the card and can not afford to pay it all off immediately:Step One: Schedule that FIXED AMOUNT to auto-debit every month on the same day the Due Date is a good idea, but you can use whatever day is best for you.In this example, that amount is 150.Step Two:The CableInternet bill is 75month.Set that up to Auto-pay on my credit card, and schedule a payment of 100 to the Credit Card on that day as well, which is 25 extra.That Extra 25month is barely noticed by your budget, and by treating them as separate payments, you can spread out the financial impact. Paying 250 once a month would accomplish the same thing, of course.The reason I like to keep it separate is so that each payment represents different things. The 150 fixed payment is the Game Changer, and thats non-negotiable unless you can find room for a higher fixed payment.By keeping the other Credit Card Payment to pay the Cable Bill, extra 25, I get the win on top. If the other 25 just CANT happen that month, its ok, because that 150 is already working its magic saving me TEN YEARS OF PAYMENTS. Also - I also happen to get 1.13 in Cash Back each time the charge clears on my account not much, but every bit helps, which I immediately apply to my balance there is no minimum for Redemption on this cardThis means my total monthly payment payments minus charges is 176.13month, 26.13 extra.This simple strategy will shave 145 payments over 12 YEARS and and save me 3935.51 in interest.this assumes a balance of 5,000... which is simply I number I picked for the sake of simplicity when using an example.  <response>: If youre paying the minimum payment on 5,000 in debt, you should cancel your cable until the debt is paid off. 