#debt

A $5K balance at 22% APR with a 2% minimum payment takes 23 years to clear and costs $11K in interest. The minimum payment formula is engineered to maximize bank revenue, not to help you escape.

Spreadsheet says invest the extra $300 wins by $3K over 10 years. Real life says it depends entirely on whether you actually invest the savings every month, and what the market does in your specific decade.

If your loan rate is 7% and expected investment return is 10%, investing wins on paper. But the loan return is guaranteed and the investment return isn't. Here's where that asymmetry tips the math.