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Freedom Day

Minimum payment calculator

The minimum payment is designed to keep you paying longer. Look at the payoff time, not the payment size. This is Principle 18 the game teaches: The Minimum Payment Trap.

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Most cards set the minimum as a small percent of what you owe, with a dollar floor. As the balance shrinks, so does the payment — and the debt stretches for years. That design is the trap.

Paying only the minimum

7 yr 8 mo

Interest paid$1,287
Total paid$2,487
Fixed $36/mo instead4 yr 8 mo
Interest saved by fixing it$490

Same starting payment. The only change: it stops shrinking. Look at the payoff time, not the payment size.

The default numbers are Jordan’s from our demo: a $1,200 balance at 24% APR — the card that quietly eats a barista’s cash flow. See how it plays out in a real month-by-month run: play the free demo.

Freedom Day is an educational simulation. Nothing here is financial advice. It is a simulation for learning. For decisions about your own money, talk to a qualified professional.