Use this debt payoff planner to estimate how long it may take to repay multiple debts, how much interest you may pay, and how an extra monthly payment could change the outcome.
You can compare the debt avalanche and debt snowball methods using the same balances, interest rates, minimum payments, and extra-payment budget.
What This Debt Payoff Planner Helps You Check
When you have several debts, the order in which extra money is applied can affect both your payoff timeline and the amount of interest you pay.
This planner keeps your total repayment budget working as debts disappear. When one debt is paid off, the payment that was going to that debt is rolled toward the next priority debt.
Debt Payoff Planner
Enter each balance, annual percentage rate, and required monthly payment. Then choose a payoff strategy and optional extra monthly amount.
| Month | Estimated Remaining Balance | Interest Paid So Far |
|---|
The table displays selected checkpoints rather than every month when the payoff period is long.
Debt Avalanche vs. Debt Snowball
Debt avalanche: after minimum payments, extra repayment money is directed to the active debt with the highest APR. This method is designed to attack the most expensive interest rate first.
Debt snowball: after minimum payments, extra repayment money is directed to the active debt with the smallest remaining balance. This method prioritizes paying off individual accounts sooner.
Neither method changes the minimum payments you owe. Continue following the payment requirements and due dates provided by each creditor.
How This Calculator Models Repayment
At the beginning of each simulated month, interest is calculated using the entered APR divided by 12. The required payment budget is then applied to the debts.
The calculator starts with the sum of all entered minimum payments plus your optional extra payment. Under the snowball and avalanche strategies, that total repayment budget is kept in the plan as debts are eliminated, allowing freed payments to roll toward the remaining balances.
This simplified model does not account for daily interest calculations, promotional rates, variable APRs, late fees, annual fees, new purchases, deferred interest, changes in minimum-payment formulas, or creditor-specific payment allocation rules.
How to Read Your Result
Estimated payoff time is the number of simulated months needed to reduce all entered balances to zero under the selected strategy.
Estimated total interest is the total interest generated by the simplified monthly model during that period.
If avalanche and snowball produce different results, compare both the projected interest cost and the repayment experience. A mathematically lower-interest strategy is only useful if the payment plan is realistic enough for you to maintain.