Debt payoff
Several debts, one plan — which one first?
The order you pay debts in changes both what it costs and how long it takes. List yours below, set one extra payment you can sustain, and see snowball and avalanche run against your actual numbers — and against doing nothing different.
Your debts
4 debts · $19,500 total · $510 in minimums
Your extra payment
One amount, above all the minimums, aimed at a single debt at a time.
Total going out each month
$760
$510 minimums + $250 extra
Total owed
$19,500
Interest saved
$8,359
Money that stays with you
Time saved
5 yr 8 mo
Debt-free 5 years and 8 months sooner
Total cost of the fastest plan
$23,738
Instead of $32,096 paying only minimums
Paying $250 extra a month and rolling every cleared minimum into the next debt clears all 4 in 2 years and 8 months instead of 8 years and 4 months.
Snowball
Smallest balance first
- Debt-free in
- 2 yr 9 mo
- Total interest
- $4,888
- First debt gone
- month 4
- Total paid
- $24,388
Avalanche
Highest interest rate first
- Debt-free in
- 2 yr 8 mo
- Total interest
- $4,238
- First debt gone
- month 4
- Total paid
- $23,738
Avalanche saves $651 here
Attacking the highest rate first saves $651 versus clearing the smallest balance first. The snowball's advantage is momentum: your first debt disappears in month 4, which for a lot of people is what makes the plan survive month three. Both beat minimums by a mile.
The order each plan clears them in
| Debt | Balance | APR | Gone (snowball) | Gone (avalanche) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Store card | $900 | 26.90% | month 4 | month 4 |
| Visa | $11,000 | 18.90% | month 33 | month 30 |
| Medical bill | $2,400 | 0.00% | month 9 | month 24 |
| Personal loan | $5,200 | 12.50% | month 18 | month 32 |
What this calculator assumes
- What actually happens to the extra payment?
- Every debt gets its minimum. Everything left over goes to one target debt — the smallest balance under snowball, the highest APR under avalanche. When a debt clears, its minimum joins the extra and rolls into the next one. That rolling effect is what makes the last debts disappear so quickly.
- Which strategy should I actually use?
- Avalanche always costs less on paper, sometimes by a lot and sometimes by pocket change — the calculator tells you which case you're in. Snowball clears your first debt sooner, and finishing something is what keeps people going. If the gap is small, take the one you'll stick with.
- Why does the minimums-only line look so bad?
- Because minimums shrink as balances do, so the finish line keeps retreating. That comparison is the real argument for having any plan at all.
- Are the minimum payments fixed?
- Here, yes — whatever you enter stays constant until the debt clears. Real credit card minimums fall as the balance does, which makes minimums-only worse than modelled, and makes a fixed payment better than modelled.
- What isn't modeled?
- New charges, promotional rates expiring, consolidation loans, balance transfers, fees, and any debt in collections or under a hardship plan. Enter those separately at their real rate if they apply to you.