Calculation & Conversion / Calculators

Debt Consolidation Calculator

This calculator runs four ways of clearing the same set of debts, month by month and to the cent, and then compares them on the only footing that isolates the interest rate. The first route pays each balance its own minimum and never moves money between them, which is the honest version of doing nothing. The second freezes your current monthly outlay, adds no new debt, and aims it at the highest-rate balance first, the way a debt avalanche works. The third takes the consolidation loan exactly as offered, at its fixed payment and fixed end date. The fourth takes that same loan on the same terms but keeps sending out the amount you send today. Because the third and fourth routes are the same loan, and because the second and fourth send exactly the same money out of your account every month, the difference between them measures the rate and nothing else. That comparison matters because every consolidation advertisement prices itself against your minimums instead, which folds the cost of spreading money across four minimums into the rate saving and makes the offer look better than the rate alone can justify. The output is the new payment, the total interest and the months to clear on every route, a line-by-line breakdown of where the advertised saving actually comes from, the same loan priced at six different terms, the month the origination fee is repaid by the rate spread, and what the answer becomes when the loan is worse than your cards. Everything runs in the browser and every amount is held in whole cents, so the columns always add up exactly.

Your debts

4 of 8 balances · $22,000 total

Copy the balance, the rate and the minimum exactly as they appear on each statement. The minimum matters more than it looks: if it is smaller than that month's interest, the balance never gets smaller — and this model will say so.

Debt 1

Name

Balance

Rate (% APR)

Minimum ($/month)

Debt 2

Name

Balance

Rate (% APR)

Minimum ($/month)

Debt 3

Name

Balance

Rate (% APR)

Minimum ($/month)

Debt 4

Name

Balance

Rate (% APR)

Minimum ($/month)

The offer you were given

Loan rate (% APR)

Consolidation loans averaged 10.76% across 111 institutions on May 25, 2026. The average personal loan is 12.16%, and the market runs 1.99%–35.99%. The rate is the only thing on this page that a lender is really competing on.

Loan term

Every month you add to the term cuts the payment and raises the total. The ladder further down shows all six side by side.

Origination fee (% of the loan)

Market fees run 1%–8%, and the best credit tiers usually see 0%–3%. Some online lenders charge nothing at all.

Rolls the fee into the loan instead of paying it at closing On, the fee is added to the amount borrowed: you pay it monthly, and it is charged interest like the rest. Off, it comes out of the money that reaches you. Either way it is money you spend, so the total below counts it.

$22,000 across 4 balances, at a blended 22.86%

Consolidate

Paying $566.00 a month either way, the loan clears in 4 years 4 months for $6,356.13 of interest while the cards take 5 years 5 months and $14,703.06. That $8,346.93 is what the rate is worth — measured at equal cash flow, not against the minimums. The offer in front of you asks $502.92 a month for 60 months instead, which hands $1,158.65 of that back and takes 8 months longer.

You owe today

$22,000

across 4 balances, blended at 22.86% — that blended rate is what the loan has to beat

The offer's payment

$502.92

$63 a month lower than the minimums you pay today

Saved at equal cash flow

−$8,347

same $566 a month either way — the fair test of the rate

Saved as the pitch counts it

−$12,569

measured against the minimums you pay today

Two comparisons, one difference. The pitch compares its payment with your minimums and claims −$12,569 of interest. Freeze the monthly amount at $566 either way, and the same loan saves −$8,347. The $4,222 in between is not the rate — the card below takes it apart line by line.

Where the advertised saving actually comes from

Start from the minimums, end at the offer as written. Every step is a line below, and the lines add up to the headline exactly — the arithmetic is done to the cent.

Aiming the same money at the highest rate firstNo loan, no fee, no new account. Available to you either way.	−$5,381
The lower rateYour blended 22.86% against the loan's, at the same monthly amount.	−$8,347
Handed back by the longer scheduleThe offer's payment stretches the same balance over 8 more months.	+$1,159
The headline: minimums versus the offer What a consolidation pitch quotes you, and it is a real number	−$12,569

The first line needs no lender: aiming the same money at the highest rate first is free, and it is most of what the second line adds. The third line is the price of the longer term — the offer's own payment, held to the end. On these numbers the schedule gives back $1,159 over 8 more months.

Five ways to clear the same balance

Every row is the same $22,000 of debt. The monthly column is what leaves your account; the interest column is the whole cost of that route.

Way out	Monthly	Clears in	Total interest
Keep paying the minimumsNothing changes. Each balance gets its own minimum and nothing more. $42,084 all in.	$566.00	87 months	$20,084
Same money, no new loanThe same monthly amount, aimed at the highest-rate balance first. $36,703 all in.	$566.00	65 months	$14,703
Balance transfer, 0% for 18 months3% transfer fee. When the window closes the rate reverts to your blended 22.86%. $26,515 all in.	$566.00	47 months	$3,855
Consolidation loan, 60 monthsThe offer as written: fixed payment, fixed end date. $30,175 all in.	$502.92	60 months	$7,515
Consolidation loan, paid at $566.00The same loan, still paid at the amount you send today. This is the fair test of the rate. $29,016 all in.	$566.00	52 months	$6,356

The highlighted row is the offer as quoted. "Same money, no new loan" keeps your monthly outlay where it is and simply points it at the highest rate first — no application, no fee, no new account. The balance-transfer row is priced at the typical 3%–5% fee with a 12–21 month 0% window. It finishes $3,660 ahead of the loan here — the part of the market that costs you nothing for a year.

What you have paid out, month by month

Each line adds up the money that has left your account so far. Lower is cheaper. Cumulative money paid out over 96 months. Minimums ends at $42,084; Same money, no loan ends at $36,703; Loan as offered ends at $30,175; Loan at your current budget ends at $29,016. Lower is cheaper.

Minimums $42,084 Same money, no loan $36,703 Loan as offered $30,175 Loan at your current budget $29,016

The vertical scale tops out at $42,084, and the axis is drawn in equal slices out to month 93. Every route clears inside that window here, so nothing is cut off.

The same loan at every term on offer

You entered 60 months. Every row is the same balance at the same 11.90% rate, with only the length changed. Click a term to switch the whole page to it.

Term	Monthly	Total interest	Versus what you picked
	$1,065.63	$2,915	+$563−$4,600 interest
	$751.56	$4,396	+$249−$3,119 interest
	$595.62	$5,929	+$93−$1,585 interest
What you entered	$502.92	$7,515	—
	$441.83	$9,152	−$61+$1,637 interest
	$398.81	$10,839	−$104+$3,324 interest

Read the two delta columns together and the trade is the whole story: a shorter term raises the payment and cuts the interest, and the interest column moves far more than the payment column does. Stretching the term is how a lender makes an offer look affordable without changing the rate.

What the origination fee costs, and when it is repaid

Fee on this loan

$660

3% of the $22,000 you are consolidating

Added to what you borrow

$660

$22,660 borrowed in total, so the fee itself is charged interest

Taken at closing

Nothing leaves your pocket on day one

Rate saving covers it in

4 months

after this point the lower rate is pure gain

The fee is charged whether or not you keep the loan, and paying it off early does not refund it. That is why the row above matters: it is the month the accumulated rate saving finally overtakes a cost you have already paid. A fee of 1%–8% is normal, but a 0% fee is common enough among online lenders that it is always worth asking for.

On the same money, what clears first

This is the "same money, no new loan" route: the monthly amount is frozen where it is and aimed at the highest-rate balance first. The order below is the model at work, and it is why this route beats spreading the same money across every minimum.

Balance	Rate	Cleared in	Interest paid
Store card$3,100	27.99%	6 mo	$256
Visa$9,400	24.99%	30 mo	$4,210
Mastercard$6,800	21.49%	56 mo	$7,746
Medical$2,700	12.99%	65 mo	$2,491

Before you sign anything

A smaller payment is not a smaller debt

The monthly figure on the offer is the one number the lender controls, and it falls when the term rises. This loan does cut your required payment, and taking that cut costs $1,158.65 in extra interest over 8 months. Whatever relief it buys is paid for in months you keep sending money out the door. Compare total cost, never the monthly figure.

The usual failure is running the cards back up

Philadelphia Fed researchers found that borrowers who used fintech loans to consolidate had rebuilt their card balances to nearly the amount they consolidated within 18 months. When that happens you keep the loan and the cards. Keep the paid-off accounts open but out of reach, and treat the freed-up credit as gone.

The saving you were quoted is measured against the minimums

Every consolidation pitch compares your new payment to the minimums you pay today. That comparison is real, but it is not the only one you have. Aiming the same money at the highest-rate balance instead of spreading it across every minimum finishes 1 year 10 months sooner and costs $5,380.57 less — with no loan, no fee and no new account. Not every saving on this page needs a lender.

The origination fee is charged whether or not you stay

Market origination fees run 1%–8% of the amount borrowed, and some online lenders charge nothing. On this quote the rate saving covers the fee in about 4 months. Paying the loan off early does not refund it. Compare APRs rather than rates — the APR already includes most fees.

Consolidating refinances the balance, it does not reduce it

You repay 100 cents on the dollar. Debt settlement is a different product: a company negotiates the balance down and charges 15%–25% of the enrolled amount for it. It requires you to be delinquent first, forgiven balances over $600 arrive as a 1099-C and are usually taxable, and the marks stay for seven years. This page does not model it.

A home equity loan puts the house behind the debt

Home equity loans and cash-out refinances price lower than a personal loan, and they convert an unsecured card balance into debt your home secures. That turns a credit problem into a foreclosure risk. If you use one, size it so a bad year cannot put the house in play.

Also worth knowing

What it does to your credit score. Applying adds a hard inquiry (roughly 5–10 points, fading within a year) and a new account lowers your average account age. Paying the cards to zero cuts your utilization, which is about 30% of a FICO score, so most borrowers come out ahead within 6–12 months — provided the cards stay at zero and stay open. Closing them removes the available credit that produced the gain.
Shop with prequalifications, not applications. The CFPB suggests comparing at least 3 offers. Use soft-pull prequalifications to do it: unlike mortgages and auto loans, FICO does not fold multiple personal-loan inquiries into one, so a week of hard applications is a week of dings.
Why the minimums here do not shrink. Card minimums are usually a percentage of the balance, so in real life they fall as you pay down. This model holds each minimum at the dollar figure you entered, which makes "change nothing" look faster and cheaper than it truly is. Every number here is the conservative version.
The balance transfer row assumes one card absorbs the whole balance. Transfer fees run 3%–5% and 0% windows run 12–21 months. The row assumes the promo rate holds for the months shown and that a single card limit covers the whole amount — in practice you often split it or move only part. Price it anyway: on these numbers the 0% card finishes $3,659.60 ahead of the loan, because you stop paying interest for the first 18 months.
Consolidating creates no tax event. You repay the full balance, so there is nothing for the IRS to treat as income. Only forgiven debt produces a 1099-C. Interest on a personal consolidation loan is not deductible; interest on a home equity loan sometimes is, if you itemize.

How this is calculated

Four routes are run month by month to the cent. Minimums pays each balance its own minimum and never moves money between them — the honest version of doing nothing. Same money, no new loan freezes your monthly outlay at $566 and points it at the highest rate first, the way a debt avalanche works. The loan as offered runs the $503 payment for 60 months. The loan at your current budget borrows on the same terms but keeps paying $566 a month.

The last two are the same loan. That is deliberate: because their monthly outlay is identical, the difference between them measures the rate and nothing else. Compare the loan against the minimums — which is what every advert does — and the answer includes the cost of spreading money across four minimums instead of attacking the worst rate. Both comparisons are shown, and the gap between them is broken out line by line.

Card minimums are held at the dollar figure you enter rather than recalculated as a percentage of a shrinking balance, which makes "change nothing" look better than it is. Interest accrues monthly on the balance outstanding, payments post after interest, and every amount is held in cents, so the columns always add up exactly. Nothing is sent anywhere: the whole model runs in this browser tab.

What this model deliberately leaves out

Debt settlement — negotiating the balance down — is a different product and is not modelled here, because it usually requires you to be delinquent first: fees run 15%–25% of the enrolled amount, forgiven debt above $600 arrives as a 1099-C and is generally taxable, and the late payments stay on your report for seven years. Also left out: home equity loans and cash-out refinances, which price lower but put your house behind an unsecured balance; promotional rates that end sooner than the term; hardship programs; and any negotiation over the interest rate itself.

Where the reference numbers come from

· Federal Reserve G.19 consumer credit, February 2026: credit card accounts assessed interest averaged 21.52%, and all accounts 22.30%.
· Debt consolidation loan survey, May 25, 2026: average 10.76% across 111 institutions.
· Bankrate personal loan averages: 12.16% overall, 13.40% for a three-year term, with the market running from 1.99% to 35.99%.
· Credible rate data, 28,458 funded loans: 9.66% for FICO 800–850 and 11.87% for 740–799. The average amount consolidated is $25,207.
· Origination fees of 1%–8% of the amount borrowed, and 3% or less for the best credit tiers. Balance transfer fees run 3%–5% with 0% windows of 12–21 months.
· A hard inquiry costs roughly 5–10 points and fades within a year. Unlike mortgages and auto loans, FICO does not fold several personal loan inquiries into one window — the 45-day rule does not apply — so use soft-pull prequalifications. The CFPB suggests comparing at least 3 offers.
· Philadelphia Fed research on fintech consolidation loans: card balances were rebuilt to nearly what had been consolidated within 18 months, on average. That is the risk this page cannot price for you.

A difference is only called real above $660 — 1% of the balance, or the fee you were quoted, whichever is larger. Below that, the honest answer is that the two routes are close enough that the decision belongs to everything this page cannot see: how you will keep the paid-off cards, and whether a fixed end date keeps you on schedule.

How to use

1
List every balance with the rate and the minimum on the statement
Enter the balance, the annual rate and the minimum payment exactly as each statement shows them. The minimum matters more than it looks: if it is smaller than that month's interest, the balance grows no matter how long you pay it, and this model will flag it in red rather than quietly assume it clears. Four or five balances covers almost every household, and the calculator handles up to eight.
2
Enter the loan you were actually offered
The rate, the term, the origination fee, and whether that fee is rolled into the amount you borrow or taken out of the money that reaches you. Debt consolidation loans averaged 10.761% across 111 institutions in the most recent survey, personal loans average 12.16%, and the market runs from 1.99% to 35.99% depending on credit. Origination fees run 1% to 8% of the amount borrowed, and the best credit tiers usually see 0% to 3%.
3
Read the five routes before you read the headline
The ledger prices the minimums, the same money with no new loan, a 0% balance transfer, the loan as offered and the same loan paid at your current budget. Two of those rows send exactly the same amount of money out of your account each month, which is what makes the rate comparison fair. The loan as offered is the row every advertisement shows you, compared against your minimums.
4
Check where the advertised saving comes from
The breakdown card splits the headline into three parts: the money that comes from aiming the same payment at the highest rate first, which needs no lender; the money that comes from the lower rate; and the money the longer schedule gives back. On the defaults here a $12,568.85 headline becomes $8,346.93 of real rate saving, with $1,158.65 handed back over eight extra months. The three lines add up to the headline exactly.
5
Price the same loan at every term and shop with prequalifications
Read the term ladder from 24 to 84 months and watch the two delta columns move in opposite directions, then check what a balance transfer would do, because a 0% window is the only part of the market that charges nothing for a year. Finally, get soft-pull prequalifications from at least three lenders and compare APRs rather than rates, since the APR already includes most of the fees.

Key facts

The advertised saving is measured against your minimums, which is the weakest baseline availableOn the defaults here - four balances totalling $22,000 at a blended 22.86%, minimums of $566 a month, and a five-year consolidation loan at 11.9% with a 3% fee rolled in - the loan cuts the interest from $20,083.63 to $7,514.78, a headline saving of $12,568.85. Now hold the monthly outlay at $566 on every route. The same balance with no loan, aimed at the highest rate first, costs $14,703.06 of interest, and the same loan paid at $566 instead of its own $502.92 clears in 52 months for $6,356.13. Measured between those two equal-cash-flow routes, the rate is worth $8,346.93. The $4,221.92 gap between the headline and the honest comparison is not the rate: $5,380.57 of it is available with no lender at all, and $1,158.65 comes back because the loan's schedule stretches the payment over eight more months. Consolidation can lower the rate and still leave you paying for the term.Source:This page's model, on the default profile
A smaller payment is not a smaller debt, and the term is the lender's leverA payment falls whenever a term rises, and the term is the variable the lender controls outright. The same $22,660 borrowed at 11.9% costs $502.92 a month over 60 months and $7,514.78 of interest; paid at $566 a month instead, the identical loan clears in 52 months for $6,356.13. Paying more than the schedule asks saves $1,158.65 and eight months, and unsecured personal loans rarely carry a prepayment penalty. Run the lever the other way and the same loan stretched from 60 months to 84 months cuts the payment further while adding interest, which is why this page prices all six terms at once instead of showing one. A payment is a schedule, not a price.Source:This page's model; 24 to 84 month terms, the range mainstream consolidation lenders offer
Where consolidation rates, card rates and fees stood in 2026The Federal Reserve's G.19 consumer credit report for February 2026 put the average annual percentage rate on credit card accounts assessed interest at 21.52%, and on all accounts at 22.30%. A survey of 111 institutions on May 25, 2026 put the average debt consolidation loan at 10.761%. Personal loans average 12.16% overall and 13.4% for a three-year term, with the market running from 1.99% to 35.99%. Credible's funded-loan data shows 9.66% for borrowers at FICO 800-850 and 11.87% at 740-799, from 28,458 loans, with an average consolidated amount of $25,207. Origination fees run 1% to 8% of the amount borrowed, and 0% to 3% for the best credit tiers, with some online lenders charging nothing. Balance transfer fees run 3% to 5% with 0% promotional windows of 12 to 21 months.Source:Federal Reserve G.19 consumer credit, February 2026; debt consolidation loan survey of 111 institutions, May 25 2026; Bankrate personal loan averages; Credible rate data; published origination and balance transfer fee ranges
Consolidation refinances a balance; settlement tries to reduce itConsolidation repays 100 cents on the dollar and changes the rate and the schedule, so there is no negotiation and no tax event. Settlement negotiates the balance down, typically requires the borrower to be delinquent first, and charges 15% to 25% of the enrolled amount. Forgiven debt above $600 is reported on a 1099-C and is generally taxable as income, the delinquencies stay on a credit report for seven years, and the creditor keeps the right to sue for the remaining balance. On the interest side, personal consolidation loan interest is not deductible at all; interest on a home equity loan sometimes is, if the borrower itemizes. That deduction is the only reason a secured route can be cheaper after tax, and it is also the reason a credit problem can become a foreclosure risk.Source:Published debt settlement fee ranges; IRS rules on cancellation-of-debt income; CFPB consumer guidance on debt relief
The failure mode is running the cards back up, not the interest ratePhiladelphia Fed researchers found that borrowers who used fintech loans to consolidate their credit card debt had rebuilt their balances to nearly the amount they had consolidated within 18 months. When that happens the loan payment and the card balances coexist, and the household is worse off than before it applied. The mechanism is the credit the consolidation frees up, which is why the practical advice is to keep the accounts open, because closing them damages the utilization part of a credit score, but out of reach. This model cannot price that risk; it can only show what each route costs if the balances stay paid, which is the assumption every consolidation pitch also makes silently.Source:Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia research on fintech household credit and consolidation loans

How this calculator works

Four routes are simulated month by month against the same debts. The first pays each balance its own minimum and moves nothing between them. The second freezes your current monthly outlay and aims it at the highest-rate balance first. The third is a fixed-rate consolidation loan with its fee rolled into the balance. The fourth is a balance transfer with an introductory rate and a transfer fee. Each route is then compared on total interest paid, months to zero, and the interest rate implicit in the whole arrangement including fees.

Measuring a consolidation loan against minimum payments flatters the loan, because minimums are the slowest and most expensive way to clear a balance; the honest baseline is the second route, which keeps your outlay unchanged and only changes the order. The model assumes no new borrowing during repayment, and the documented failure mode is not the interest rate but balances rebuilding afterwards — a refinanced card that gets used again converts a fixed loan back into revolving debt at a higher rate.

Sources and standards

Disclaimer

This is an educational calculator, not financial advice. The result is an arithmetic projection of the figures you enter: it does not know your full circumstances, the terms of a specific offer, or the tax and regulatory rules that apply where you live. Confirm any figure against the terms of the product itself, or with a licensed professional, before acting on it.

Last reviewed: 18 September 2026

Frequently asked questions

Does debt consolidation hurt my credit score?

In the short term it costs a few points, and over a year it usually helps. Applying adds a hard inquiry worth roughly 5 to 10 points, which fades within a year, and a new account lowers the average age of your accounts. Paying the balances to zero does considerably more good than either: credit utilization is about 30% of a FICO score, so clearing $22,000 of revolving debt moves that number far more than one inquiry moves it. Most borrowers come out ahead within 6 to 12 months, provided the accounts stay open and stay at zero. Closing them is the mistake that erases the gain, because it removes the available credit that produced it, and running the balances back up restores the utilization. One asymmetry is worth knowing before you shop: unlike mortgages, auto loans and student loans, FICO does not fold several personal loan inquiries into one window, so a week of hard applications is a week of separate dings. Use soft-pull prequalifications instead. The CFPB suggests comparing at least three offers, and prequalification gives you their rates without the inquiries.

What is the difference between debt consolidation and debt settlement?

They are opposite products sold under similar names, and the difference is whether the balance itself shrinks. Consolidation repays 100 cents on the dollar and changes only the rate and the schedule, so the balance is refinanced rather than reduced: no negotiation, no tax event, no 1099-C, and the accounts are paid in full. Settlement tries to get the balance reduced. A company negotiates with your creditors, usually after you have already stopped paying, and charges 15% to 25% of the enrolled amount for whatever it achieves. Forgiven debt above $600 is reported to the IRS on a 1099-C and is generally taxable as income, the delinquencies stay on your credit report for seven years, and the creditor keeps the right to sue for the unpaid balance. Put the numbers side by side on the defaults here: consolidation on a five-year loan at 11.9% costs $7,514.78 of interest on $22,000 of debt, while a settlement that erased a quarter of the balance would forgive $5,500 and hand you a tax bill on most of it, on top of the collection damage. Priced honestly, a third option beats both: keep the balances, change nothing about who you owe, and aim the same $566 a month at the highest rate first. That clears the debt in 65 months for $14,703.06 of interest, with no loan, no fee and no new account.

What are the risks of consolidating credit card debt?

Three are worth naming, and only the first one actually happens to most people. The first is relapse. Consolidation pays the cards off and frees up the credit lines, and Philadelphia Fed researchers found that borrowers who used fintech consolidation loans had rebuilt their card balances to nearly the amount they had consolidated within 18 months. When that happens you keep the loan and the cards at the same time, and the monthly obligation is higher than where you started, with no way back. The practical defence is to keep the accounts open, because closing them damages the utilization part of your score, but out of reach and out of your wallet. The second risk is the term. A lower payment usually comes from a longer schedule rather than a lower price, and the term is the one number the lender fully controls. On the defaults here the loan as offered asks $502.92 a month over 60 months and costs $7,514.78 of interest, while the same loan paid at your current $566 a month clears in 52 months for $6,356.13. That $1,158.65 is the price of accepting the longer schedule, and it is money you did not have to spend. The third risk is collateral. A personal consolidation loan is unsecured, so the worst case is a collection account. A home equity loan or a cash-out refinance prices lower and turns a credit problem into a claim on your house. If you use one, size it so that a bad year cannot put the house in play.

Will consolidating lower my monthly payment, and does that mean I save money?

It usually lowers the payment, and it does not follow that you save. The monthly figure falls whenever the term rises, and the term is the variable the lender controls outright, so the payment is the easiest thing to make look better. Take the defaults here: four balances totalling $22,000 at a blended 22.86%, minimums of $566 a month, and a five-year consolidation loan at 11.9% with a 3% fee. The loan asks $502.92 a month, which is $63.08 less than the minimums, and its interest is $7,514.78 against $20,083.63 on the minimums, so the headline saving is $12,568.85. Now freeze the monthly amount at $566 and run the same balance with no loan at all, attacking the highest rate first, and the interest falls to $14,703.06 - so $5,380.57 of that headline comes from the order the money is paid in rather than from the loan. The same loan paid at $566 instead of $502.92 clears in 52 months for $6,356.13, so the part of the saving that is genuinely the rate is $8,346.93, and $1,158.65 of it is handed back because the loan's own schedule stretches the payment over eight more months. The advertisement quotes the first number. The number that survives an honest comparison is the second.

How long does it take to pay off consolidated debt?

As long as the term you sign, usually somewhere between 24 and 84 months, and that fixed end date is the genuine advantage of the product: a consolidation loan is the only route here that comes with a date on it. On the defaults above the four routes finish at very different times. Paying the minimums takes 87 months, and that assumes the minimums never fall as the balances shrink. Keeping the same $566 a month with no new loan takes 65 months. A 0% balance transfer takes 47. A five-year consolidation loan takes its full 60 months. That same loan paid at $566 a month takes 52, which is worth knowing before you sign: paying faster than the schedule is allowed, and unsecured personal loans rarely carry a prepayment penalty, though it is always worth checking the agreement rather than assuming. The one direction that is not available is going backwards - if the paid-off cards get used again, the loan ends and the balances are still there, and the Philadelphia Fed data suggests an 18-month window is when that tends to happen.

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