How Long to Pay Off $5K, $10K, $20K, $50K Debt (Calculator)

You owe $15,000 and want to know: how long until this is gone? The answer depends on your interest rate and how much you pay monthly. Here are real timelines at every common debt level.

Credit Card Debt (22% APR)

Balance	Min payment	Payoff time	Total interest	With $200 extra	Interest saved
$3,000	$90	5 years	$1,700	1.5 years	$1,200
$5,000	$150	4.5 years	$2,400	1.8 years	$1,700
$10,000	$300	4.5 years	$4,900	2.3 years	$3,400
$15,000	$450	4.5 years	$7,300	2.7 years	$5,000
$20,000	$600	4.5 years	$9,800	3 years	$6,600
$30,000	$900	4.5 years	$14,700	3.5 years	$9,800

Credit card minimums keep you in debt for roughly 4.5 years regardless of balance. The interest eats most of your payment.

Car Loan (7% APR)

Balance	Monthly (5yr)	Total interest
$10,000	$198/mo	$1,881
$15,000	$297/mo	$2,822
$20,000	$396/mo	$3,762
$25,000	$495/mo	$4,703

Student Loan (5.5% APR)

Balance	Standard (10yr)	Total interest	With $150 extra	Interest saved
$20,000	$217/mo	$6,000	6.5 years	$2,600
$30,000	$325/mo	$9,000	6.5 years	$3,900
$50,000	$542/mo	$15,100	6.5 years	$6,500
$75,000	$814/mo	$22,600	7 years	$9,200

Mixed Debt: Typical Example

Debt	Balance	APR	Minimum
Credit card	$6,000	24%	$180
Car loan	$14,000	6.5%	$275
Student loans	$28,000	5.5%	$300

Total: $48,000. Minimums: $755/month.

Strategy	Payoff time	Total interest
Minimums only	~10 years	~$15,200
+$200/mo avalanche	~6.5 years	~$9,400
+$500/mo avalanche	~4.5 years	~$6,500

Using avalanche, the credit card dies first. Then that $180 minimum rolls into the car loan. Each payoff accelerates the next.