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Debt payoff

Get debt-free, faster

List your debts, throw a little extra at them each month, and pick your attack order. We'll show the day you're clear, the interest you save, and whether avalanche or snowball wins for you.

When will you be debt-free?
List your debts, add whatever extra you can throw at them each month, and pick an attack order. We'll tell you the day you're clear — and how much interest the plan saves you versus paying only the minimums.
Your debts
$/ mo

Highest interest rate first — the mathematically cheapest order.

Paying $1,085/month with the avalanche method, you'll be

Debt-free in 3 years

clearing $32,500 of debt by Aug 2029 and paying $5,807 in interest along the way.

Debt-free by

Aug 2029

Total interest

$5,807

Interest saved

$5,340

Time saved

1 year 8 months

Paying only the minimums, you'd take 4 years 8 months and hand over $11,147 in interest. Your extra $300/month saves $5,340 and gets you out 1 year 8 months sooner.

Interest with your $300/mo extra$5,807
Interest paying minimums only$11,147

Interest compounds monthly on each balance; minimums are paid on every debt, then all spare cash cascades onto the target debt for your chosen method. Rates and minimums are your own figures — open the panel for the payoff order, the balance curve and the avalanche-vs-snowball split. A guide, not financial advice.

Some spare cash each month, two debts: where should it go? Most people send it to whichever balance feels worst. That isn't always wrong, but it's rarely the cheapest — with more than one balance running, the order you attack them in changes both the month you finish and the interest you hand over on the way.

This planner runs your real balances through both orders — highest rate first and smallest balance first — and puts them side by side with what the same debts would cost on minimums alone.

How this is calculated

  1. 1

    Each debt gets a monthly interest rate

    The annual rate you type is divided by twelve and charged on the outstanding balance at the start of every modelled month, before any payment lands. Rows with a blank or zero balance are ignored.

  2. 2

    Your total monthly outlay is held constant

    The budget is every minimum plus your extra, and it never changes. Each month the minimums are paid first, on every debt still owing.

  3. 3

    Whatever is left cascades onto one target

    The rest goes entirely to one debt — the highest rate under avalanche, the smallest balance under snowball. When it clears, the fixed budget rolls its freed-up minimum onto the next target, which is why later debts fall so much faster than the first.

  4. 4

    The month each balance hits zero is recorded

    That stamp produces the payoff order, the timeline dates and the markers on the balance curve. If everything hasn't cleared within the modelled horizon, the page tells you the payments aren't beating the interest.

  5. 5

    The comparisons re-run the same model

    Interest saved and time saved come from the same simulation with your extra set to zero; the strategy tiles run it once under each method. Every figure is a difference between runs of one model.

What it assumes

  • Interest is applied once a month on the whole balance. Cards typically accrue it daily and charge it at the end of the statement period, so a real statement will differ slightly.
  • The minimum you enter stays fixed. On a card it's usually a percentage of what you owe, so it shrinks as the balance falls — the model matches someone who keeps paying the same amount, not whatever the statement asks.
  • Fees are excluded: annual card fees, establishment and account-keeping fees, late-payment charges and balance-transfer fees all sit outside it.
  • Rates stay flat. Promotional rates that revert, variable rates that move, and interest-free periods on purchases are not modelled.
  • New spending is assumed to stop — fresh purchases on a card you're paying down are the most common reason a real payoff runs long.

Common questions

Avalanche or snowball — does the choice really matter?

Avalanche targets the highest rate, so it normally costs the least interest. Snowball clears the smallest balance first, getting a debt off the list sooner. Look at the gap the tool reports: when your rates sit close, it's often small enough that the method you'll stick with wins.

What should I enter as the minimum payment?

The figure on your latest statement. On a personal or car loan that's your contracted repayment and it doesn't move. On a card it falls as the balance does, so treat the plan as a commitment to keep paying the same amount rather than letting it shrink.

Should I include my HECS-HELP debt here?

Generally no. A study loan doesn't charge interest — it's indexed once a year — and repayments are compulsory, set by your income and collected through the tax system rather than paid as a minimum you choose. The HECS/HELP tool models it properly.

What about a balance transfer or debt consolidation?

Neither is modelled. You can approximate a transfer by editing a row's balance and rate, but the tool won't capture the transfer fee, the date the promotional rate ends, or the revert rate on anything still owing. Check that revert rate before assuming it's cheaper.

The tool says my debts never clear — what does that mean?

The payments you've entered don't cover the interest being charged, so the balances stall or grow. Even a small extra changes that, since nearly every additional dollar goes to principal. If there's no room in your budget, free financial counselling is available through the National Debt Helpline, and you can ask your lender about hardship.

Sources: ASIC MoneySmart — Credit cards · ASIC MoneySmart — Managing debt · National Debt Helpline · All data sources

See also: Budget your salary · Savings goal · Mortgage vs super vs shares · HECS / HELP

General information only, not financial advice. Figures are estimates based on the inputs and assumptions above and don't account for your personal circumstances. Confirm anything important with the relevant authority or a licensed adviser.