Debt payoff calculator: when will you be debt free?
Tell it what you owe and what you pay each month. It gives the month you are debt free, and what a little more each month saves.
Highest rate first
Brian is our example. He owes $6,500 at 27.49%, $4,200 at 22.99% and $1,800 at 18.99%.
Every extra dollar goes to the 27.49% card before any other. So each extra dollar cuts the most expensive interest.
Enter your top rate card first. Brian pays the least interest this way because his costliest balance shrinks fastest.
Smallest balance first costs $5,953 and 39 months. This order saves $491 and one month.
Smallest balance first
The $1,800 card at 18.99% gets paid off before the others. Its $60 minimum then rolls onto the next card.
This order costs $491 more in interest and one more month than paying the top rate card first. In return, Brian has a paid-off account in about 13 months.
Add a little extra each month
The $100 is what moves Brian’s date. With his minimums alone, Brian pays for 56 months and $8,833 in interest.
A minimum is set so that most of it goes to interest. MyCreditUnion.gov shows a 2% minimum on a $1,000 balance at 13% that barely touches the principal.
Compare with one loan
The calculator’s consolidation row uses the 11.9% average and a three-year term. It wins when the loan rate is well under the card rates and Brian can keep up the $415 payment.
So a loan only helps if that payment fits every month. Call and the specialist checks a payment that size against your budget.
The FTC warns that missing minimums for four to six months can lead to a charge-off. Pick the plan you can keep every month.
Run the loan side in detail on the consolidation calculator.
How this debt payoff calculator figures it
Every month each debt is charged its own interest (balance × yearly rate ÷ 12) and gets its minimum payment. The extra money goes to one target: the highest rate (avalanche) or the smallest balance (snowball). When a debt hits zero, its minimum joins the extra. The one-loan line uses the fixed-payment formula at the Federal Reserve’s bank average for a 24-month personal loan, 11.9%.
Our debt payoff calculator shows your debt free date and the interest you pay to get there. With $12,500 on three cards and $100 extra a month, you are debt free in 3 years and 2 months. Paying the 27.49% card first costs $5,462 in interest, $491 less than smallest balance first.
The first thing to do is call a specialist. They check your result against a loan near the 11.9% bank average and set up the plan you can pay every month.
Worked examples
- Brian’s $12,500 across three cards with $100 extra: highest rate first takes 38 months and $5,462 in interest. Smallest balance first takes 39 months and $5,953.
- With $9,000 at 27.99% and $6,000 at 18.99% plus $150 extra, highest rate first clears it in 35 months with $5,917 in interest. Smallest balance first takes 37 months and $6,704, so the top rate first saves $787.
- With $4,000 at 29.99%, $2,900 at 21.99% and $1,500 at 16.99% plus $50 extra, highest rate first takes 42 months and $4,138 in interest. Smallest balance first takes 44 months and $4,728, so the top rate first saves $590.
About this calculator
Which payoff order saves the most interest?
Paying the highest rate card first saves the most. Every extra dollar goes to your most expensive balance, so it shrinks fastest.
Why pay the smallest balance first?
You clear a card sooner. Its minimum then rolls onto the next card. It costs a little more interest than paying the highest rate first.
Why not pay only the minimums?
Most of a minimum goes to interest. MyCreditUnion.gov shows a 2% minimum on a $1,000 balance at 13% barely touching the principal.
When does one loan beat paying the cards down?
It wins when the loan rate is well under your card rates and you can make the payment every month. The bank average loan rate was 11.9%.
Get your payoff plan today
You have your debt free date, and now you need a plan you can keep every month. Paying only minimums kept the example at 56 months and $8,833 in interest, so every month you wait adds to that cost. Call now and a specialist goes through your cards for free and compares both payoff orders with one loan.