Debt Paydown Calculator - Eliminate and Consolidate Debt | Bankrate (2024)

FAQs

Does debt consolidation remove debt? ›

Consolidation does not automatically erase your debt, but it does provide some borrowers with the tools they need to pay back what they owe more effectively. The goal of consolidation is twofold. First, consolidation condenses multiple monthly payments, often owed to different lenders, into a single payment.

Taking out a debt consolidation loan can help put you on a faster track to total payoff and may help you save money in interest by paying down the balance faster. This is especially true if you have significant credit card debt you carry from month to month.

Debt consolidation loan

Banks, credit unions, and installment loan lenders may offer debt consolidation loans. These loans convert many of your debts into one loan payment, simplifying how many payments you have to make. These offers also might be for lower interest rates than what you're currently paying.

You make one payment 15 days before your statement is due and another payment three days before the due date. By doing this, you can lower your overall credit utilization ratio, which can raise your credit score. Keeping a good credit score is important if you want to apply for new credit cards.

By making a credit card payment 15 days before your payment due date—and again three days before—you're able to reduce your balances and show a lower credit utilization ratio before your billing cycle ends. That information is reported to the credit bureaus.

Debt consolidation might lower your monthly payments, make managing your monthly payments easier, decrease your interest rates and save you money overall. But there are also potential drawbacks, such as upfront fees and the risk of winding up deeper in debt.

Skipping a payment or making a late one on top of that can result in an even lower credit score. Many lenders will also charge extra fees for missing or late payments, which can end up making your debt consolidation process feeling even more costly.

The addition of a new account: If you're opening a new account to consolidate your debt, such as a balance transfer credit card or a personal loan, the new account will lower the average age of all of your accounts, which can negatively impact the length of your credit history.

On average, consumers completing the program see a 23% decrease in enrolled debt after fees. A big plus is that National Debt Relief doesn't collect any fees until a settlement offer is received from the creditor, the client approves the settlement and at least one settlement payment is made to the creditor.

In general, National Debt Relief has strong customer reviews. The company is accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and it has an A+ rating. On TrustPilot, it has a 4.7 out of five rating based on over 39,000 reviews.

What is the best and fastest way to pay off debt? ›

Focus on your highest interest rate first

It's OK to make minimum payments on the rest of your accounts. Once your highest interest rate account is paid off, focus on paying off your card with the next highest rate and continue to do so until all of your debts are paid off.

It will take 32 months to pay off $15,000 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.

A minimum payment of 3% a month on $15,000 worth of debt means 227 months (almost 19 years) of payments, starting at $450 a month. By the time you've paid off the $15,000, you'll also have paid almost as much in interest ($12,978 if you're paying the average interest rate of 14.96%) as you did in principal.

It's not at all uncommon for households to be swimming in more that twice as much credit card debt. But just because a $15,000 balance isn't rare doesn't mean it's a good thing. Credit card debt is seriously expensive. Most credit cards charge between 15% and 29% interest, so paying down that debt should be a priority.