How to read your debt consolidation calculator results

What to have in front of you

The calculator asks for three numbers for each debt, up to six debts: the balance, the interest rate (APR), and what you pay each month. All three are on your card statement. Leave the payment blank and it fills in an estimated minimum: 1% of the balance plus one month of interest, with a $25 floor. Overwrite it if you pay more.

Your statement also has a cross check: issuers must print a minimum payment warning with the payoff time and cost at the minimum, plus the payment that clears it in 36 months (12 CFR 1026.7, paragraph b(12)).

For the loan side, pick a credit band and the calculator fills in an example rate: 9% for excellent, 13.5% for good, 21% for fair, 29% for poor, and 18% if you are not sure. Those are editable examples, not market data or an offer. With a real quote, type its interest rate and its origination fee, not its APR.

The example we will read

These are sample numbers, not a real borrower's. Every figure below uses the calculator's own formulas, laid out in its how it works section.

The verdict line

The headline is one of two sentences. "Yes, consolidating could save you money" appears only when two things are both true: the loan's APR with the fee included is lower than your blended card rate, and the loan's total cost is lower than your current path. Otherwise you see "Consolidating may not be your best move right now," with the reason and some alternatives.

Our example passes both: a 16.31% APR against a blended 26.7%, and a lower total. A tool that always says yes tells you nothing, so ours says no when the numbers do.

The total cost box

Anchor on this. "If nothing changes" reads $17,166: your $10,000 plus $7,166 of interest, paying the same amounts until the last card is gone in 4 years 9 months. "With one consolidation loan" reads $13,681: 48 payments of about $285. The gap of about $3,485 is "after the fee" because the fee is inside the loan total.

The result rows, one at a time

• Total debt and blended rate: $10,000 at 26.7%. Blended means weighted by balance, so the $6,000 card counts six times as much as the $1,000 card. This is the rate the loan has to beat.
• You pay now, per month: $322. The sum of the three payments.
• Time to debt-free at that pace: 4 yrs 9 mo. Your slowest debt, here the $3,000 card at 57 months, assuming the same payment every month and no new charges.
• Loan amount and origination fee: $10,526 and $526. Fees usually come out of the loan, so to land $10,000 on your cards you borrow $10,000 divided by 0.95. Our guide to borrowing to cover an origination fee covers that trade.
• Consolidation loan payment: $285 a month, about $37 less than you pay now.
• Loan APR, fee included: 16.31%. The CFPB describes the APR as the interest rate plus fees such as origination charges (CFPB). The calculator solves for the yearly rate at which your 48 payments equal the $10,000 that reaches your debts. Compare this number with your card APRs and with other lenders' APRs.
• Interest and fees saved (lifetime): $3,485. If the loan costs more, this row turns red and reads "Extra interest and fees you'd pay."
• Break-even interest rate: 26.46% (29.58% APR). Any quote with an interest rate under 26.46%, at this fee and term, still costs less in total than your current path. The APR in brackets travels better: at 48 months, any loan with an APR under 29.58% beats these cards, whatever its fee. If the fee alone wipes out the savings, the row reads "None."

Change the term and watch the trade

Same cards, same 13.5% rate, same 5% fee, each term button:

Every extra year lowers the payment and costs money. At 72 months the payment is $108 below today's $322, but the saving shrinks to $1,751 and the break-even rate falls to 17.72%. At 24 months the payment is $181 higher, and the saving is $5,096. Our debt consolidation fees guide calls this the term trap. Pick the shortest term whose payment you can make every month without the cards creeping back up.

Three ways to get a misleading result

1. Typing the APR into the interest rate box. A quote of 13.5% interest with a 5% fee carries an APR of about 16.3%. Type 16.3% as the rate and still enter the 5% fee, and the fee is counted twice. The calculator then shows a 19.18% APR and $2,769 saved, understating the real saving by about $716. If a quote shows only an APR, enter it with a 0% fee.

2. Assuming the pre-filled payment is what you will really pay. The calculator holds each payment fixed, but a real minimum usually shrinks as the balance falls. Paying the $6,000 card a minimum figured the same way each month, 1% plus interest, takes 260 months and $12,800 in interest, against 53 months and $4,437 at a steady $200. If you only ever pay the minimum, your real "if nothing changes" cost is far higher than shown.

3. Reading too much into a stuck balance. If a payment barely covers a card's interest, the calculator flags it "stuck at minimums" and caps the timeline at 50+ years. The "if nothing changes" total is then just 600 months of payments, not a real estimate. A $5,000 card at 29.99% with a $120 payment is an example: the first month's interest is about $125, so the balance never falls. Treat the flag as a signal to act.

When the verdict says no but a saving shows

Run the same cards with the fair band at 21%, an 8% fee, and 36 months. The APR with the fee is 27.23%, above the blended 26.7%, so the verdict is no. Yet the rows still show $2,424 saved. That saving comes from paying $410 a month for three years, not from a better rate.

Test it: raise your card payments to the same $410 ($255, $110, and $45). You finish in 3 years 3 months for $14,565 in total, $177 less than that loan's $14,742. When the loan's APR is not lower, your own payment plan usually does the same job. Our comparison of consolidation vs the snowball and avalanche methods runs that case in depth. If the payments themselves are the problem, a nonprofit credit counselor may set up a debt management plan, which the CFPB says typically lowers monthly payments, interest, and fees (CFPB).

What to do with your result

Lendifi's founder did not notice the origination fee on his own consolidation loan until he was at the signing table, and he signed anyway. The fee box is there so you see that number first. What he wanted was several real offers side by side. The calculator is the step before that:

1. Run it with your real statement numbers and real payments.
2. Write down the break-even APR for the term you can afford.
3. Collect quotes and compare each lender's APR with that number. A full application usually means a hard credit inquiry, so ask each lender which kind of check it uses first.
4. Before you sign, read the Truth in Lending disclosure. It must show the amount financed, the finance charge, the APR, the total of payments, and whether a prepayment penalty applies (12 CFR 1026.18). Put the real rate and fee back into the calculator.

When you are ready, start on the Lendifi debt consolidation page.

Sources: Minimum payment warning, 12 CFR 1026.7 paragraph b(12). APR includes origination charges, CFPB. Loan disclosures, 12 CFR 1026.18. Credit counseling and debt management plans, CFPB. Example figures are illustrative calculations using the calculator's own formulas, not real lender terms.

Lendifi is operated by Apex Lead Group LLC. Lendifi is not a lender and does not make loans or credit decisions. We are an advertising-supported comparison service, and some links on this page may be affiliate links through which we may earn a commission at no cost to you. Any rates, payments, or savings figures shown are estimates based on modeled examples and are not guarantees of approval or financing. Actual rates and terms are determined by the lender based on your full credit profile. See our Ad Disclosure for details.