True Cost of Debt

See what your loans actually cost you, not just what they cost you each month.

Almost every debt calculator on the internet shows you the monthly payment. Almost none show you what the loan actually costs you over its full life. Once you see that number, you stop thinking about debt the same way.
What "normal" loans actually cost you
Loan typeBorrowedPaid back
30-year mortgage
7% interest rate
 $300,000$718,527
6-year auto loan
9% interest rate
 $35,000$45,442
Credit card balance
22% APR, minimum payments only
 $8,000$21,500+

Calculated at common 2025 interest rates. Sources: Federal Reserve, NerdWallet.

** A note on ownership: the numbers above are loan costs only. Cars and homes also cost money to keep. Plan for roughly 1 to 2% of a home's value per year in maintenance and repairs, and around $0.10 to $0.13 per mile for vehicle upkeep (national averages, Bankrate and AAA). Wealthy families budget for these costs up front, they don't get surprised by them.
And here's the part most people miss: the average credit card APR is now 22.3%, and more than 1 in 4 Americans with credit card debt only make minimum payments. That turns thousands of dollars into tens of thousands over decades.
Sources: Federal Reserve Q4 2025, NerdWallet 2025 Household Debt Study.

One step before your numbers

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Now run YOUR numbers

Pick your loan type, then run the numbers.

Selecting a type fills in typical defaults for rate and term. You can change either field below if needed.
The total amount borrowed (or the current balance you're carrying).
Enter an amount greater than 0.
or enter your own
Enter a rate between 0 and 40.
How long until the loan is paid off. For credit cards, pick a realistic payoff timeline rather than minimum payments. Aggressive but doable: 3 to 5 years.
Enter a term between 1 and 50 years.
Want to see what paying extra each month would save you? Add an amount and we'll show you the difference.
Enter a number between 0 and 100,000.
Total you'll pay back
$0
The breakdown
Monthly payment$0
Loan amount$0
Total interest paid$0
The opportunity cost: If those same monthly payments went into a 7% investment instead, over the same term they'd grow to $0. That doesn't mean "don't have the loan." It means: be intentional about what you finance, at what rate, and for how long.
What this means:
Wealthy families don't avoid debt entirely. They use it strategically and they pay attention to the rate. Anything above 8% is usually fighting your wealth, not building it. Anything below 5% can actually be the math working in your favor. This is a calculation most people never make.
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