How Long Will It Take to Pay Off $1,000? (2024)

FAQs

How Long Will It Take to Pay Off $1,000? ›

It will take 24 months to pay off $1,000 with payments of $50 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.

Put extra money toward the debt with the highest interest rate. Called the debt avalanche strategy, this method will save the most money on interest in the long run. Make the minimum payments on all of your debts, and then funnel any extra money you have toward paying off your highest-interest debt.

Debt avalanche: Make minimum payments on all but your credit card with the highest interest rate. Send all excess payments to that card account. Once you pay that account off, send all excess payments to your next highest rate. Repeat until all of your debts are paid off.

The specific credit score you need to qualify for a $1,000 loan can vary quite a bit among lenders. Most lenders look for good to excellent credit scores (670 or higher), but there are some that are willing to work with people who have less-than-perfect credit.

Consider the snowball method of paying off debt.

This involves starting with your smallest balance first, paying that off and then rolling that same payment towards the next smallest balance as you work your way up to the largest balance. This method can help you build momentum as each balance is paid off.

It will take 24 months to pay off $1,000 with payments of $50 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.

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 $5000 in debt a lot? ›

$5,000 in credit card debt can be quite costly in the long run. That's especially the case if you only make minimum payments each month.

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.

“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.

To pay off $3,000 in credit card debt within 36 months, you will need to pay $109 per month, assuming an APR of 18%. You would incur $912 in interest charges during that time, but you could avoid much of this extra cost and pay off your debt faster by using a 0% APR balance transfer credit card.

Yes, paying off a personal loan early could temporarily have a negative impact on your credit scores. But any dip in your credit scores will likely be temporary and minor. And it might be worth balancing that risk against the possible benefits of paying off your personal loan early.

Debt consolidation works by taking out a single loan to pay off multiple other debts. True, consolidating debt with a personal loan means trading one kind of debt for another. However, this strategy has advantages — if you can qualify for a personal loan with affordable interest rates and fair terms.