DEBT PAYOFF
Debt Payoff Calculator
List what you owe and what you can put toward it. A snowball sends the extra payment to the smallest balance. An avalanche sends it to the highest rate. The chart and the debt list follow the order you choose.
THE SNOWBALL
Smallest balance first.
A snowball pays the minimum on every debt, then puts whatever is left on the smallest balance. When that debt hits zero, its minimum rolls onto the next smallest. The payment grows as each balance disappears.
The avalanche would finish 1 month sooner and save $78 in interest.
$745 a month goes to the smallest balance after minimums of $355.
| Debt | Paid off | Rolls forward |
|---|---|---|
| Medical bill | Month 1 | $25 |
| Credit card | Month 7 | $110 |
| Car loan | Month 15 | $220 |
YOUR DEBTS
Your debts and monthly cash.
1 Extra payment goes here first, because this debt has the smallest balance. Paid off in month 1.
2 Extra payment arrives 2nd, because this debt has the next smallest balance. Paid off in month 7.
3 Extra payment arrives last, because this debt has the largest balance. Paid off in month 15.
Values on this page are temporary and won’t transfer through sign-in. No account data is used. Sign in
How the payoff is calculated
- Enter each debt’s balance, interest rate, and minimum payment. Add a row for every card, loan, or medical bill you are paying down.
- Enter monthly take-home pay and essential spending. Essentials are rent, food, and other costs that are not debt payments.
- Minimums are paid on every debt. Cash left after essentials and minimums is the extra payment. A snowball sends it to the smallest balance. An avalanche sends it to the highest rate.
- When a debt reaches zero, its minimum joins that extra payment and moves to the next debt in the same order.
Questions about paying off debt
- What is a debt snowball?
- A snowball pays the minimum on every debt and puts any extra money toward the smallest balance. When that debt is gone, its old minimum payment joins the extra and attacks the next smallest balance. The payment grows as each debt drops off. The method is named for that growing payment, not for the interest rate.
- How is this different from paying the highest interest rate first?
- Paying the highest rate first is an avalanche. It usually costs less in interest, because the expensive balance shrinks sooner. A snowball can cost more in interest and still be the plan people finish, because the first balance disappears sooner. The switch on this page puts either order on the chart. The debts line up in that same order, and a sentence under the chart says what the other order would change.
- Why does a finished debt’s minimum keep getting paid?
- The minimum does not go back into spending. It stays in the debt payment and moves to the next balance. That is the roll-forward. If you lower the payment after a debt is gone, the debt-free date moves later. The plan assumes you keep sending the same total amount until the last balance is zero.
- What does the debt-free date assume?
- On-time payments, a constant take-home pay, and constant essential spending. Interest is charged each month at one-twelfth of the annual rate. New charges, fees, and rate changes are not included. If take-home pay does not cover essentials plus every minimum, there is no payoff date, because the balances would grow or a payment would be missed.