Pay off highest rate first: Leave this box checked to have the calculator pay off your credit card with the highest rate first. You can uncheck this box to see the results of an alternate payment method. The alternate method pays off your credit cards starting with the lowest balance.
Credit cards: Enter up to 10 credit card accounts, one on each line.
Balance: Your current balance on your credit card.
Interest rate: The annual percentage rate you pay on a credit card. The rate you enter is used to calculate the interest on all future payments for the credit card. The length of time to pay off this credit card may be much greater than calculated, if you enter a low promotional interest rate that is only good for a short period of time.
Payment: This is your initial monthly payment. If you check the "use credit card minimum payments" box, your monthly payment is calculated as 4 percent of your current outstanding balance. With the "use credit card minimum payments" box checked, your monthly payment will decrease as your balance is paid down. This can greatly increase the length of time it takes to pay off your credit cards. Uncheck this box to enter your own monthly payment that will remain the same until your balance is paid in full.
(We calculate your minimum monthly payment as 4 percent of your current outstanding balance. While your actual minimum monthly payment may be slightly different, this is one of the most common methods used by credit card companies to calculate minimum payments.)
Additional payment: This dollar amount is in addition to your monthly minimum payments that you will use to pay down your credit card debt. The higher this amount, the faster your debt will be paid off. It is important that your additional payment is one that you can afford. For the roll-down method to be effective you must be consistent in your payments. Should you choose an amount that is too high, you may become discouraged if you are unable to meet your payment goal.