Debt Payoff Calculator

How to use this debt payoff calculator

List each debt with its current balance, APR, and minimum payment. Add whatever extra you can commit monthly — this is the engine of the whole plan. Then compare methods: avalanche attacks the highest rate first (least total interest, always); snowball attacks the smallest balance first (fastest psychological wins).

The simulation logic

Each month the calculator: charges interest on every balance (APR ÷ 12), pays the minimum on each debt, then throws your extra amount — plus the freed-up minimums of any debts already killed — at the current target debt. This "rollover" is why payoff accelerates near the end: by the final debt, your entire monthly debt budget is firing at one balance.

Avalanche vs. snowball: math vs. psychology

Pure math always favors the avalanche — interest is the price of debt, and the highest-rate debt charges the most per dollar. But research on borrower behavior consistently finds that people who close accounts early stay motivated longer. When the interest difference between methods is small (check the comparison line above), pick the snowball without guilt. When the gap is large — say, a 24% credit card next to a 6% car loan — take the avalanche seriously. For a deep dive on the card specifically, see the credit card payoff calculator.

What this calculator doesn't include

New charges, balance-transfer fees, promotional rate expirations, and variable rates are not modeled — it assumes balances only shrink. If you're still adding to a card each month, no payoff plan survives contact with that habit; stop the new charges first.