It will take 47 months to pay off $20,000 with payments of $600 per month, assuming the average credit card APR of around 18%. The time it takes to repay a balance depends on how often you make payments, how big your payments are and what the interest rate charged by the lender is. Increasing your payments to $2,400 per month, for example, would decrease your payoff timeline to 9 months.
Examples of How Long It Will Take to Pay Off $20,000 on a Credit Card
- If you pay $600 a month, it will take you 47 months to pay off $20,000
- If you pay $1,200 a month, it will take you 20 months to pay off $20,000
- If you pay $1,800 a month, it will take you 13 months to pay off $20,000
- If you pay $2,400 a month, it will take you 9 months to pay off $20,000
Note: All examples assume an average APR of 18%.
With credit cards and other lines of credit, you can technically take as much time as you need to pay off $20,000 , as long as you always make at least your required minimum monthly payment. You can use WalletHub’s credit card calculator to find out exactly how long it would take you to pay off $20,000 with specific interest rates and monthly payments.
Finally, it’s worth noting that other types of borrowing, such as personal loans, mortgages, home equity loans, car loans and student loans, will give you a set repayment term from the start. You won’t need to figure out how long it will take to pay off the balance. But you can always pay back what you owe in a shorter amount of time by making larger monthly payments. Just make sure your lender doesn’t have a penalty for early payoff – most don’t.
This answer was first published on 12/05/23 and it was last updated on 12/13/23. For the most current information about a financial product, you should always check and confirm accuracy with the offering financial institution. Editorial and user-generated content is not provided, reviewed or endorsed by any company.
FAQs
It will take 47 months to pay off $20,000 with payments of $600 per month, assuming the average credit card APR of around 18%. The time it takes to repay a balance depends on how often you make payments, how big your payments are and what the interest rate charged by the lender is.
How long would it take to pay off 20k? ›
If you're talking about credit card debt, all you need to do is make minimum monthly payments. At a minimum payment of $200 a month at current interest rates, it will end up costing you $22,644.95 (in addition to the original $20,000!) to pay off all the debt, and it'll take you about 10 years to do it.
How to pay off a $20,000 loan fast? ›
5 Ways To Pay Off A Loan Early
- Make bi-weekly payments. Instead of making monthly payments toward your loan, submit half-payments every two weeks. ...
- Round up your monthly payments. ...
- Make one extra payment each year. ...
- Refinance. ...
- Boost your income and put all extra money toward the loan.
Use a debt consolidation loan
With a debt consolidation loan, you borrow money from a lender and roll all of those debts into one loan with a single interest rate. This allows you to make one monthly payment rather than paying multiple creditors.
Is 20k in debt a lot? ›
“That's because the best balance transfer and personal loan terms are reserved for people with strong credit scores. $20,000 is a lot of credit card debt and it sounds like you're having trouble making progress,” says Rossman.
How much is $20,000 financed for 60 months? ›
For instance, using our loan calculator, if you buy a $20,000 vehicle at 5% APR for 60 months the monthly payment would be $377.42 and you would pay $2,645.48 in interest.
How much a month would a 20k loan be? ›
The monthly payment on a $20,000 loan ranges from $273 to $2,009, depending on the APR and how long the loan lasts. For example, if you take out a $20,000 loan for one year with an APR of 36%, your monthly payment will be $2,009.
What is the minimum payment on a $20,000 credit card? ›
Let's say you have a balance of $20,000, and your credit card's APR is 20%, which is near the current average. If your card issuer uses the interest plus 1% calculation method, your minimum payment will be $533.33. That's quite a bit of money to pay for your credit card bill every month.
How to clear loans quickly? ›
Here are some tactics you can use to pay off your personal loan more quickly and reduce interest costs:
- Make payments larger than the minimum required amount: Every extra contribution helps! ...
- Make payments more frequently than required: Some lenders permit bi-weekly payments.
Some lenders may charge a prepayment penalty of up to 2% of the loan's outstanding balance if you decide to pay off your loan ahead of schedule. Additionally, paying off your loan early will strip you of some of the credit benefits that come with making on-time monthly payments.
If you have $20,000 in credit card debt that you need to pay off in three years or less, you have multiple options to consider, including:
- Take advantage of a debt relief service.
- Consolidate your debt with a home equity loan.
- Take advantage of 0% balance transfer credit cards.
Is $2,000 too much credit card debt? $2,000 in credit card debt is manageable if you can pay more than the minimum each month. If it's hard to keep up with the payments, then you'll need to make some financial changes, such as tightening up your spending or refinancing your debt.
How to pay off debt when you are broke? ›
How to get out of debt when you have no money
- Step 1: Stop taking on new debt. ...
- Step 2: Determine how much you owe. ...
- Step 3: Create a budget. ...
- Step 4: Pay off the smallest debts first. ...
- Step 5: Start tackling larger debts. ...
- Step 6: Look for ways to earn extra money. ...
- Step 7: Boost your credit scores.
A good balance to aim for is about 35% or less. Anything higher than this could indicate that you have too much debt for the amount of income you earn. Another way to tell if you have too much debt is to pay attention to the way you manage money each month.
Is the average 22 year old in debt? ›
Here's the average debt balances by age group: Gen Z (ages 18 to 23): $9,593. Millennials (ages 24 to 39): $78,396. Gen X (ages 40 to 55): $135,841.
How much debt is bad? ›
Generally speaking, a good debt-to-income ratio is anything less than or equal to 36%. Meanwhile, any ratio above 43% is considered too high. The biggest piece of your DTI ratio pie is bound to be your monthly mortgage payment.
How much is a $20000 loan over 5 years? ›
Advertising Disclosures
| Loan Amount | Loan Term (Years) | Estimated Fixed Monthly Payment* |
|---|
| $20,000 | 5 | $415.07 |
| $25,000 | 3 | $771.81 |
| $25,000 | 5 | $514.57 |
| $30,000 | 3 | $926.18 |
13 more rowsRepresentative example
| Loan amount £20,000 | Monthly repayments £386.05 | Length of agreement 60 months |
| Total amount repayable £23,163.00 | Representative 6.1% APR | Fixed Annual Rate of Interest (nominal) 5.9358% |
1 more rowHow long will it take to save?
| Savings Goal | If You Saved $200/month | If You Saved $400/month |
|---|
| $5,000 | 25 months | 13 months |
| $10,000 | 50 months | 25 months |
| $20,000 | 100 months | 50 months |
| $30,000 | 150 months | 75 months |
7 more rowsSaving $20,000 in one year is a lot. Simply looking at this number can feel overwhelming, so Catie Hogan, head of curriculum and founding financial coach at Parthean recommended breaking it down into more digestible chunks. “Saving $20,000 per year is about $1,667 per month or about $385 per week,” she said.
