What is the difference between the debt snowball and debt avalanche methods?+
The avalanche method pays off your highest-interest debt first, which minimizes the total interest you pay. The snowball method pays off your smallest balance first, giving you faster psychological wins. Avalanche saves the most money; snowball keeps you motivated. This calculator compares both on your actual debts.
Which debt payoff method is best?+
Avalanche is mathematically optimal — it always costs the least interest. But if quick wins keep you committed, snowball can be better in practice because most people stick with it. Enter your debts here to see how big the difference actually is for you; it's often smaller than people expect.
How does an extra monthly payment affect payoff time?+
Any amount above your minimums goes straight to reducing principal, which cuts the interest that compounds each month. Even a small extra payment can shave months or years off your timeline. The calculator shows exactly how much time and interest your extra payment saves versus paying minimums only.
What is the rollover (debt stacking) method?+
When you clear one debt, you 'roll' its payment onto the next debt in your plan instead of pocketing it. This snowballs your available payment larger and larger, accelerating each subsequent payoff. Both strategies in this tool use the rollover method.
Why does my balance never reach zero in the calculator?+
If a debt's minimum payment barely covers its monthly interest, the principal never goes down — this is called negative amortization. The tool flags this so you know you need to increase your payment above the minimum to actually clear the debt.
How much extra do I need to pay to be debt-free by a certain date?+
Use the debt-free goal planner. Set a target number of years and the calculator solves for the exact extra monthly payment that clears every debt by then, and tells you how much more that is than what you're paying now. It works with whichever strategy you've selected.
Can I set my own custom debt payoff order?+
Yes. Choose the 'Custom order' strategy and use the up/down arrows to arrange your debts in any sequence you want. The calculator then applies the rollover method to your custom order, which is useful if you want to clear a specific debt first for personal reasons.
Does a one-time lump-sum payment help pay off debt faster?+
A lot. Enter a one-time lump sum (from a bonus, tax refund or savings) and the tool applies it immediately to your highest-priority debt, then shows how many months and how much interest it saves. Because it attacks the principal directly, a lump sum early in the plan has an outsized effect.
Does this show a month-by-month amortization schedule?+
Yes. The payment-schedule tab breaks down every month of your plan into the payment made, interest charged, principal paid and the remaining balance, so you can see exactly how the debt falls over time and when each debt is cleared.
Can I export or download my debt payoff plan?+
Yes. You can copy a text summary of your plan or download the full month-by-month schedule as a CSV file to open in Excel or Google Sheets. Everything is generated in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
Is my financial data saved or uploaded?+
No. All calculations run entirely in your browser. Your debt list is saved only to your own device's local storage for convenience and is never uploaded, logged, or shared. Clearing your browser data removes it.
