By Adarsha Dhakal December 14, 2025
The minimum payment is mostly interest. You feel like you're making progress, but the principal balance barely moves.
Your credit score is damaged by Credit Utilization (how much debt you have vs. your limit). Paying the minimum keeps utilization high.
Pay $1 dollar more than the minimum required. It sends an immediate signal that you are aggressively tackling the principal.
Instead of one monthly payment, split the minimum payment into two smaller payments every 15 days. This lowers your utilization faster.
Find the credit card with the highest interest rate (APR). Pay the minimum on all others, and throw ALL extra cash at the highest-rate card first.
Using the Avalanche method, you can clear $5,000 in high-interest debt in half the time compared to only paying the minimum.