Decision instrument

Debt Payoff Calculator

Model snowball or avalanche payoff strategies across multiple debts.

Your inputs

Adjust the fields and review the result in this workbench.

Add Your Debts

Total Debt:$30,000.00

Include every required minimum payment plus any extra amount you can consistently put toward debt.

Payoff Strategy

Interpretation

How Debt Payoff Planning works

The Debt Payoff Calculator models a snowball plan (smallest remaining balance first) or avalanche plan (highest interest first). Enter each balance, interest rate, and required minimum payment, then enter the total amount you can pay monthly. It applies every minimum payment first and sends the remaining amount to the selected priority debt.

Example

Key features

A realistic example to show how this tool can support an actual decision.

Formula

Monthly Interest = (Annual Rate / 12) × Remaining Balance

  • Model snowball or avalanche payoff strategies
  • Track multiple debts and required minimum payments
  • See the payoff order and target debt-free date
  • Calculate total interest paid under the selected strategy

Avoid mistakes

Common mistakes

A few things that can lead to misleading results or poor decisions.

The avalanche method generally saves more interest, while the snowball method provides psychological wins by clearing small remaining balances first.