Play · compound interest, working against you

Debt Spiral Visualizer

Updated 2026-07-26 · Concept: minimum payments are the lender's favorite plan

The compounder shows growth working for you. This is the same mathematics pointed the other way. A credit card's "minimum payment" is calculated to keep you comfortable, and paying, for as long as possible. Drag the payment slider and watch what each extra dollar per month buys back.

Balance ($) APR: 24% Payment: $40/mo

Method: interest accrues monthly (APR ÷ 12); fixed payment. Card issuers' actual minimums (commonly ~1 to 2% of balance or a floor amount) stretch payoff even further than a fixed payment. On payday lending: the CFPB notes a typical two-week payday loan with a $15-per-$100 fee equates to an APR of almost 400%; see consumerfinance.gov and the lesson on predatory products.

The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.

Proverbs 22:7

KJV. The spiral above is that servitude drawn as a curve. The way out is the same discipline in reverse; see the payoff race.

This tool needs JavaScript. Worked example (same engine): a $2,000 balance at 24% APR: $40/month exactly covers the interest and never pays it off; $50/month takes 6 years 10 months and costs $2,064 in interest, more than the original balance; $100/month takes 2 years 2 months and costs $580.