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The average American is now carrying $6,523 in credit card debt, according to Motley Fool Money research. At today’s average APR of 21%, that revolving debt costs roughly $1,368 a year in interest. Money that buys nothing, builds nothing, and just disappears to the bank.
The hardest part isn’t even the interest. It’s feeling “stuck” on the debt treadmill and letting that bleed over into other areas of your finances.
Here’s the real cost, and a few ways to start getting unstuck.
What 21% APR actually costs each year
While the average credit card balance is $6,523, the real number varies a lot from person to person.
Here’s what 21% APR looks like at a few different debt levels, assuming the balance is revolving for a full year:
| Credit Card Balance | Annual Interest |
|---|---|
| $3,000 | $630 |
| $5,000 | $1,050 |
| $7,000 | $1,470 |
| $10,000 | $2,100 |
The bigger issue isn’t just one year’s worth of interest. It’s paying it year after year and not making progress on the balance. Minimum payments are designed to keep people in debt, with a large chunk of each payment going straight to interest.
Someone carrying a $7,000 balance and making minimum payments could realistically pay $4,000 or more in total interest before the balance is gone — which could take over a decade.
The toll isn’t just financial
Ever heard of the “spillover effect”? It’s the idea that stress in one corner of your life has a way of bleeding into the rest. Credit card debt is one of the clearest examples of it in personal finance.
Carrying a credit card balance you can’t seem to dent can start affecting other areas of your financial wellbeing. It shows up as low-grade anxiety around bills and paydays, the urge to avoid opening statements, and a general sense that you’re behind even when other parts of your finances are going fine. A lot of people stop checking their balance altogether, which only makes it easier to put off.
That’s the part the interest number doesn’t capture. A $6,523 balance at 21% APR isn’t just $1,368 a year — it’s the mental tax of feeling like you’re running on a treadmill, moving constantly but getting nowhere.
How to get “unstuck”
I’ve helped a lot of people work their way out of credit card debt over the years, and for most, one of these three plans is the way out.
The 0% balance transfer plan
A balance transfer credit card lets you move existing debt to a new card with a 0% intro APR — usually for 12 to 21 months. During that window, every dollar you pay goes straight to the principal instead of interest.
On a $6,523 balance, that could mean saving $1,000 to $1,500 in interest you’d otherwise hand over.
This works best if your credit score is in decent shape (generally a FICO® Score of 670+) and you have a realistic plan to pay most of the balance off during the intro window. There’s usually a transfer fee of 3% to 5%, but it’s almost always worth it compared to what you’d pay in interest.
See Motley Fool Money’s top balance transfer cards of 2026 and start clearing your debt today.
Explore a personal loan with fixed payments
If your debt is spread across multiple cards, or you know you’ll need more than 21 months to pay it down, a personal loan might be a better fit.
You will still have to pay interest, but the rate is fixed and typically much lower than credit card rates. The big advantage with a personal loan is predictability. You know exactly when you’ll be debt-free, and payments are on a schedule.
SoFi® won our Best Personal Loan Overall award for 2026, and Discover Personal Loans took Best Personal Loan for Debt Consolidation. Here are our top lenders for personal loans.
Look into credit counseling (non-profits)
If your credit card debt is overwhelming and you’re truly in trouble, talking to someone will help. Nonprofit credit counselors are non-judgmental, and have a handful of tools that can help, like:
- A free initial review of your finances and debts
- A debt management plan that rolls your monthly payments into one
- Negotiated lower interest rates with your card issuers — sometimes down to 6% to 10%
The National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) is a starting point I’d recommend.
The bottom line
A $6,523 balance at 21% APR is costing the average American around $1,368 a year in interest — and a lot more than that in stress.
The single biggest move most people can make is to stop the interest. For anyone with decent credit, a balance transfer card is the fastest way to do it.
Just make sure to go in with a plan: divide your balance by the number of months in the intro window, automate that payment, and treat it like a fixed bill. That’s how you actually finish.
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Motley Fool Money does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from Motley Fool Money is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.Joel O’Leary has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Capital One Financial. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
