Planning tool
Debt Payoff Calculator
Enter multiple balances, rates, and minimum payments to compare the debt avalanche and debt snowball methods with one monthly budget.
How to build a useful payoff plan
- Use each lender statement to enter the current balance, APR, and required minimum payment. If a rate is promotional or variable, note when it changes and revisit the plan then.
- Enter an extra monthly amount you can sustain after essentials and savings. The plan treats your monthly budget as the sum of entered minimums plus that extra amount.
- Compare the target order and estimated interest under avalanche and snowball. Both methods keep paying the listed minimums and direct the remaining budget to one debt at a time.
- Update balances and minimums when statements change. Keep paying every required minimum; the tool is not connected to creditors and does not schedule payments.
What the comparison tells you
Avalanche targets the debt with the highest entered rate first. When debts otherwise follow the same assumptions, reducing the highest-rate balance sooner generally lowers modeled interest. Snowball targets the smallest balance first; clearing an account earlier may make progress easier to see, but it can cost more interest if a larger debt has a much higher rate. The calculator shows the arithmetic trade-off; it cannot decide which approach fits your priorities.
Example using the prefilled fictional debts: minimums total $760 per month. With $200 extra, the modeled budget is $960. If the $6,500 card balance is paid off, the amount previously assigned to it rolls to the next target. Actual minimum formulas can change as balances fall, so replace these examples with current statement amounts.
Assumptions, exclusions, and next steps
This is a month-by-month estimate using the entered APR as a monthly periodic rate. It holds minimums constant until a debt is paid, assumes no new purchases or cash advances, and does not include late charges, annual fees, promotional-rate expiration, payment-posting dates, or creditor-specific allocation rules. Credit cards often accrue interest using daily balances and changing minimums, so your payoff date and interest can differ.
For a broader plan, review the CFPB guide to the highest-interest and snowball methods. If you are behind on payments or a creditor offers hardship terms, ask that creditor about available options before relying on this estimate.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between avalanche and snowball?
Avalanche sends available extra money to the highest-rate debt first, which usually minimizes interest under the modeled assumptions. Snowball targets the smallest balance first, which can produce earlier individual payoffs. Compare both plans using your actual balances, rates, and minimum payments.
Does this include credit-card minimum payment formulas?
No. Enter the current minimum payment shown by each lender. Minimums may change as balances change; this estimate holds the entered minimum payment constant until that debt is paid off.
What does fixed monthly budget mean?
The simulator uses the sum of your entered minimum payments plus the extra amount as a fixed monthly debt budget. When one balance is paid off, the available money rolls to the next debt in the selected strategy.