Why should I pay more than the minimum payment on my credit card accounts?

Why should I pay more than the minimum payment on my credit card accounts?

Janet Bodnar (Deputy Editor, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance) gives expert video advice on: Should I take advantage of low rate offers and transfer my balances?; How many credit cards should I have? and more...

First of all, if you carry a balance on your credit card accounts, paying more than the minimum payment means you're going to pay it off more quickly. It means that you're going to pay less interest. It means that you're going to have more available credit for future purposes, and also it means you're going to get out of the hole. If you only make minimum payments on your credit card, there's a very good chance that you're never going to get out of debt, because you're never going to be keeping up with the interest payments. So, the interest is going to be accruing faster than you can pay it off, and that is something you never want to happen. That's why you should always make more than the minimum payment.