Debt payoff planner

How this calculator works

Both methods pay the minimum on every debt and put every extra dollar toward one target debt. When a debt is paid off, its payment rolls over to the next one, so your payments snowball. The snowball method targets the smallest balance first, which gives quick wins that keep many people motivated. The avalanche method targets the highest interest rate first, which always costs the least in interest. The best plan is the one you will stick with, and the extra monthly amount matters far more than the order.

A worked example

The example has four debts totaling $44,500: a $6,000 credit card at 24.99%, a $2,500 card at 19.99%, a $14,000 car loan at 7.5%, and a $22,000 student loan at 5.5%. The minimum payments add up to $825 a month, and the example adds $200 on top, for $1,025 a month.

With that payment, both methods finish in 4 years and 4 months. The avalanche method costs about $7,970 in interest and the snowball about $8,186, a difference of $216. Now compare that with paying only the minimums: 9 years and 5 months, and about $16,596 in interest. The extra $200 a month saves roughly five years and $8,600. Raising the extra to $500 brings the finish to 3 years and 2 months.

How to read your results

The main result names the cheaper method and its payoff time. The rows underneath show both methods side by side, so you can see how small or large the gap is for your own debts. The table lists the month each individual debt disappears under each method. That is the practical difference: the snowball clears the small card early, while the avalanche clears the expensive card first.

The "Minimum payments only" row is the most important comparison on the page. It shows what happens if you never add anything extra and stop paying each debt's payment once that debt is gone.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Spending the freed-up payment. Both methods depend on rolling each finished debt's payment into the next one. If that money drifts back into everyday spending, the plan stretches out by years.
• Continuing to use the cards. The calculator assumes no new charges. New purchases on a card you are paying down cancel the progress.
• Ignoring a warning about a minimum payment. If the calculator says a minimum does not cover the monthly interest, that balance is growing. It needs a higher payment before any ordering method can work.
• Arguing about the method and not starting. In most cases the two methods land within a few hundred dollars of each other. The size of the extra payment matters much more.