If you just pay the minimum due on credit card bills, you'll barely cover the interest you owe, to say nothing of the principal. The return on your investment is the interest you no longer have to pay.
"That's a no-brainer," says Rob Oliver, a financial planner in Ann Arbor, Mich.
The average household credit-card debt is nearly $10,000. It will take you years to pay off your balance, and you could end up spending thousands of dollars more than the original amount you charged.
The rate on a typical credit card: 13.9 percent.
Interest savings on paying off
a $5,000 balance over 2 1/2 years: $857
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When will you be debt free? Choose a plan
Best return with no risk: Pay off your highest-interest credit-card debt
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