Should I pay more than my minimum monthly payment?

About minimum credit card payments

Each month your credit card company expects you to make a minimum payment by a certain date. The amount of the credit card minimum payment is usually relatively low compared to the actual balance you owe.

You have probably heard over and over again that financial experts frown upon only making the minimum monthly payment, and that you should instead always pay more.

If you only make the minimum payment each month, you can end up spending quite a bit on interest payments over time. In fact, you will probably end up paying substantially more in interest payments than you initially paid for the item you bought with the credit card.

Look at it this way: If you are spending more in a day on a meal than you are for your monthly credit card payment, then something may be askew.

Pay the minimum payment when that is all you can manage, but otherwise attempting to make much more substantial payments may benefit you. Oftentimes, the best case scenario for saving money is paying off your entire monthly balance whenever possible.

Recommended resource: Credit card minimum payment calculator