Plan your debt-free date across multiple cards and loans — avalanche or snowball
| Name | Balance ($) | APR (%) | Min. Payment ($) |
|---|
| Payoff order | Debt | APR | Paid Off In | Interest Paid |
|---|
Getting out of debt is a scheduling problem: with several balances at different rates, the order you attack them changes both your debt-free date and how much interest you hand over on the way. This calculator simulates your actual payoff month by month — minimum payments on everything, your extra payment focused on one target at a time — and tells you the date you're done under either of the two proven strategies.
| Debt Avalanche | Debt Snowball | |
|---|---|---|
| Target order | Highest APR first | Smallest balance first |
| Optimizes for | Least total interest (mathematically optimal) | Fastest first win (psychologically optimal) |
| First victory | Can take a while if the high-APR debt is large | Usually within months |
| Best for | Disciplined payers, large APR spreads | Motivation-driven payers, many small debts |
The dollar difference between the two is often smaller than people expect — frequently a few hundred dollars on typical consumer debt loads — which is why the standard advice is honest: the best method is the one you'll stick with. This calculator shows you the exact cost of each so the choice is informed, not guessed.
Credit card minimum payments are engineered to keep you paying: they're typically 1–3% of the balance, barely ahead of monthly interest. The month-by-month math produces the numbers this tool shows in "Months if Minimums Only" — and they're brutal:
| $5,000 at 24% APR | Payoff time | Interest paid |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum only (2.5% of balance) | ~23 years | ~$7,800 |
| Minimum + $100/mo extra | ~2.8 years | ~$1,700 |
| Minimum + $250/mo extra | ~1.5 years | ~$880 |
The "rollover" is the engine of both strategies: when a debt is cleared, its minimum payment plus your extra payment move to the next target. Your monthly outlay never changes, but the attack on each successive debt gets bigger — that's why the last debts fall so much faster than the first.
Avalanche always costs equal or less in total interest — it's mathematically optimal. Snowball wins on motivation with faster early payoffs. This calculator prices both for your exact debts; the difference is often small enough that the sustainable choice wins.
Fixed APRs, constant minimum payments, no new charges, and your extra payment rolling onto the next target when a debt clears. Real card minimums shrink as balances fall — keeping them constant (paying the original minimum) is both simpler and slightly faster.
If a debt's minimum payment is smaller than its monthly interest, the balance grows even while you pay. Add an extra payment or negotiate the rate — the tool flags this situation explicitly.
Usually no for the mortgage (low rate, long term, possible tax benefits) and it depends for student loans. Most payoff plans focus on consumer debt above ~7% APR; low-rate debt often loses to investing the extra payment instead.
Yes — every balance and rate you enter is processed locally in your browser and never uploaded or stored.
The cleanest way is to subtract the lump sum from the target debt's balance and recalculate — that mirrors exactly what the payment would do.
Yes, it's fully responsive; the debt table scrolls horizontally on narrow screens so every field stays editable.
The debt-free date on your screen is a real, reachable date — the simulation behind it is the same month-by-month arithmetic your lender runs. Pick the method you'll stick with, automate the extra payment, and check back monthly as the balances fall.