The Real Damage is a new tool to help you visualize how much your purchases REALLY cost.

If you owe money, when you buy something instead of paying off your debt the real cost of that purchase isn't shown on the tag.

This tool shows you how much that money would have saved you, if you had applied it to your debt. In other words, the real damage.

Some default values have been entered for you; feel free to play with the numbers. Don't worry, we don't transfer or retain ANY information so you're completely safe to fiddle with the bits.

Enter information on your credit cards or loans. Only for those that you are carrying debt. APR means your Annual Percentage Rate which can be any where between %5 to 29.9%. Balance is the amount you still owe on that card. Min. Payment is how your card calculates what your minimum payment is. Usually, this is Interest + 1% of balance.

Play with the number to suite your own situation. You'll be surprised how it all adds up!

Some people prefer to make additional extra payments on their credit cards each month. Total up how much extra you pay on all your cards each month and enter it into the field below.

The amount you enter will be subtracted from the card with the highest interest rate each month as we calculate your Real Damage!

Q:
When I change the balance of my debt, my real damage stays the same.

A:
The calculation uses minimum payments based on paying off a percentage of the balance. For example, an amount of $75 with a apr of 15 and a balance of $1200 with the minimum payment calculated by "Interest + 1% Balance" gives a Real Damage value of $168.75. The same Real Damage value would be given if the balance were $1500. Whether you owe $1200 or $1500, the same number of payments would be required when you calculate "15% apr of balance" + "1% of balance". However, variables such as minimum payment calculation, APR and additional payments would effect the resulting Real Damage.

If you find this tool useful, or if you have suggestions for other tools you'd like to see, I'd appreciate hearing from you!

Feel free to link to my site or pass it on to others!

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