Debt Payoff Planner
Enter your debts, choose your payoff strategy, and see exactly when you will be debt-free — and how much interest you will save along the way.
Add a Debt
Add your first debt to get started
Enter each debt's balance, interest rate, and minimum payment. Add as many as you have.
Avalanche vs. Snowball
Both strategies use the cascade effect — freed minimums accelerate the next payoff. The difference is where you aim first.
| Avalanche | Snowball | |
|---|---|---|
| Priority debt | Highest interest rate first | Lowest balance first |
| Total interest paid | Less — mathematically optimal | More — rate ignored |
| Time to first payoff | Longer (may take many months) | Faster (quick win) |
| Psychological benefit | Moderate — hard to see early progress | High — frequent wins boost motivation |
| Best for | Disciplined payers focused on minimizing cost | Anyone who needs momentum to stay on track |
Research shows the best strategy is the one you actually stick to. Both beat paying only minimums by a wide margin.
Extra Payment Has Outsized Impact
Even $100–$200 extra per month applied to the priority debt can shave months or years off your payoff timeline. The cascade effect of freed minimums compounds this dramatically.
Business vs. Personal Debt
Business interest is generally tax-deductible — factor this into your effective rate when prioritizing. A 20% business line at a 25% tax rate has an effective after-tax cost of ~15%.
Consider Refinancing First
Before running a payoff plan, check if high-rate debts (credit cards, MCAs) can be refinanced into a lower-rate term loan. A rate reduction of 5–10% can cut total interest by thousands.
Minimum Payments Are Treadmills
On high-rate debt, minimums barely cover interest. A $10,000 balance at 28% with a $200 minimum takes over 8 years to pay off. Any extra accelerates escape dramatically.
Cash Flow vs. Debt Payoff
Aggressively paying debt while starving the business of operating capital creates its own risk. Keep a minimum cash buffer before applying extra payments to debt.
Monthly Cycle Assumption
Results assume interest is applied and payments are made once per month. Bi-weekly or accelerated payment schedules will pay off debt slightly faster than shown here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Resources
Financial Ratios Calculator
Evaluate debt ratios and coverage before locking in a payoff plan.
Working Capital Tool
Ensure your cash buffer is healthy before aggressively paying down debt.
Term Loan
Refinance high-rate debt into a fixed, lower-rate term loan.
Break-Even Calculator
See how debt reduction improves your monthly break-even point.
Cut the Cost of Debt
High-interest debt eating your cash flow?
Refinancing high-rate business debt — MCAs, credit cards, short-term loans — into a lower-rate term loan can cut your total interest by thousands and free up monthly cash flow for growth.