💸 Debt Payoff Calculator for £5,000 Debt paying £1000/mo
How long to pay off your debt? And how much interest will it cost?
Quick answer
Paying £1,000 a month on a £5,000 debt at 20% APR clears it in about 6 months (roughly 0.5 years).
- £1,000/mo: 6 months
- £1,500/mo: ~4 months (simple est.)
- £2,000/mo: ~3 months
- Total interest (at £1,000/mo): ~£1,000
In detail: Debt Payoff Calculator for £5,000 Debt paying £1000/mo
A £5,000 debt with £1,000/month payments is a scenario where the APR matters more than people expect. At a typical 20% APR, roughly £83 of the first month's payment is pure interest — only the balance after that reduces what you owe. That ratio improves as the balance drops.
At this payment rate, you're making genuinely efficient progress — most of your payment is reducing principal rather than servicing interest. Worth keeping the rhythm and avoiding new debt until this is cleared.
Two strategies if you have multiple debts: the avalanche (highest APR first, mathematically optimal) and the snowball (smallest balance first, psychologically motivating). On a single debt this doesn't matter, but if £5,000 is one of several, write them all down before committing to a payment plan.
What this tool helps with
Time to pay off and total interest cost
What you can enter
- Total debt (£): 5000
- Annual interest rate (%): 18.9
- Monthly payment (£): 1000
Why this page is useful
How long to pay off your debt? And how much interest will it cost? This page loads fast, gives a direct answer, and then expands with useful context instead of burying the result under filler.