Use this calculator to see how quickly you can pay off your debts using the debt snowball method. This strategy focuses on paying off debts in order from smallest balance to largest, providing psychological wins as each debt is eliminated.
Your Debts
Extra Monthly Payment
Your Debt Snowball Plan
Estimated Payoff Date:
Total Months to Payoff:
Total Principal Paid:
Total Interest Paid:
Total Amount Paid:
Understanding the Debt Snowball Method
The debt snowball method is a debt reduction strategy where you pay off debts in order of smallest balance to largest, regardless of the interest rate. The idea is to gain momentum and motivation as you quickly eliminate smaller debts, "snowballing" your payments into larger ones.
How it Works:
List Your Debts: Gather all your debts (credit cards, personal loans, car loans, student loans, etc.) and list them from the smallest outstanding balance to the largest.
Minimum Payments: Make the minimum required payment on all your debts, except for the one with the smallest balance.
Attack the Smallest Debt: Throw all your extra available money at the debt with the smallest balance. This is where your "snowball" starts.
Roll Over Payments: Once the smallest debt is completely paid off, take the money you were paying on that debt (its minimum payment plus any extra money you were applying) and add it to the minimum payment of the next smallest debt.
Repeat: Continue this process, rolling the payments from paid-off debts into the next smallest debt, until all your debts are eliminated.
Why Choose the Debt Snowball?
While mathematically the debt avalanche method (paying highest interest rate first) saves more money on interest, the debt snowball method is highly effective for behavioral reasons. The quick wins of paying off smaller debts provide significant psychological boosts, keeping you motivated and committed to your debt-free journey. It builds momentum and confidence, making it easier to stick with the plan.
Using the Calculator:
Our Debt Snowball Calculator helps you visualize this process. Simply enter the details for each of your debts: a descriptive name, the current outstanding balance, your minimum monthly payment, and the annual interest rate. Then, input any additional amount you can consistently afford to pay towards your debts each month. The calculator will sort your debts, simulate the snowball repayment, and provide you with an estimated payoff date, total interest paid, and a detailed repayment schedule.
Example Scenario:
Let's say you have the following debts and an extra $100 per month:
Credit Card 1: Balance $1,500, Min. Payment $50, Interest 18%
Personal Loan: Balance $5,000, Min. Payment $120, Interest 10%
Car Loan: Balance $12,000, Min. Payment $250, Interest 6%
Using the calculator with an extra $100, here's how the snowball would work:
You pay $50 on Credit Card 1 + $100 extra = $150. You pay $120 on Personal Loan and $250 on Car Loan.
Credit Card 1 is paid off quickly. Now you have $150 (its old payment) to add to the Personal Loan.
You pay $120 (min) + $150 (snowball) = $270 on the Personal Loan. You continue paying $250 on the Car Loan.
Personal Loan is paid off. Now you have $270 (its old payment) to add to the Car Loan.
You pay $250 (min) + $270 (snowball) = $520 on the Car Loan until it's paid off.
This calculator will show you the exact timeline and total costs for this and your own custom scenarios.
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var monthTotalPayment = 0;
var monthTotalInterest = 0;
debts.forEach(function(originalDebt) { // Use original sorted order for display
var debtDetail = monthData.debts.find(function(d) { return d.name === originalDebt.name; });
if (debtDetail) {
scheduleHtml += '
$' + debtDetail.payment.toFixed(2) + '
$' + debtDetail.newBalance.toFixed(2) + '
';
monthTotalPayment += debtDetail.payment;
monthTotalInterest += debtDetail.interest;
} else {
// If debt was paid off in a previous month, show 0 payment and 0 balance
scheduleHtml += '