Debt payoff timeline
Calculate how many months and how much total interest it will take to pay off a balance at a fixed APR and monthly payment.
Open calculatorDebt payoff strategy
Simulates paying off several debts month by month with one fixed budget. Every debt receives its minimum payment and the surplus goes to the priority debt: the highest rate under the avalanche method, the smallest balance under the snowball method. Once a debt is cleared, its payment rolls on to the next one. For both strategies you get months to zero, total interest, the payoff date and the order, plus the difference between them. The model assumes fixed rates and no fees, commissions or payment holidays.
Everything you put towards all debts each month — at least the sum of the minimums. The surplus above the minimums goes to the priority debt.
Interest saved by the avalanche
134.95
Months saved by the avalanche
0
Avalanche: months to zero
31
Avalanche: total interest
3,706.56
Avalanche: final payment
—
Avalanche: payoff order
Credit card → Store instalments → Personal loan
Avalanche: first debt cleared in month 15
—
Snowball: months to zero
31
Snowball: total interest
3,841.51
Snowball: final payment
—
Snowball: payoff order
Store instalments → Credit card → Personal loan
Snowball: first debt cleared in month 7
—
Schedule — Avalanche
| Month | Credit card | Personal loan | Store instalments | Interest | Remaining |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 480.00 | 400.00 | 120.00 | 255.00 | 25,755.00 |
| 2 | 480.00 | 400.00 | 120.00 | 245.96 | 25,000.96 |
| 3 | 480.00 | 400.00 | 120.00 | 236.81 | 24,237.77 |
| 4 | 480.00 | 400.00 | 120.00 | 227.53 | 23,465.30 |
| 5 | 480.00 | 400.00 | 120.00 | 218.13 | 22,683.43 |
| 6 | 480.00 | 400.00 | 120.00 | 208.60 | 21,892.03 |
| 7 | 480.00 | 400.00 | 120.00 | 198.96 | 21,090.99 |
| 8 | 480.00 | 400.00 | 120.00 | 189.17 | 20,280.16 |
| 9 | 480.00 | 400.00 | 120.00 | 179.25 | 19,459.41 |
| 10 | 480.00 | 400.00 | 120.00 | 169.20 | 18,628.61 |
| 11 | 480.00 | 400.00 | 120.00 | 159.01 | 17,787.62 |
| 12 | 480.00 | 400.00 | 120.00 | 148.69 | 16,936.31 |
| 13 | 480.00 | 400.00 | 120.00 | 138.22 | 16,074.53 |
| 14 | 480.00 | 400.00 | 120.00 | 127.62 | 15,202.15 |
| 15 | 18.85 | 400.00 | 581.15 | 116.87 | 14,319.02 |
| 16 | — | 485.26 | 514.74 | 108.67 | 13,427.69 |
| 17 | — | 1,000.00 | — | 100.71 | 12,528.40 |
| 18 | — | 1,000.00 | — | 93.96 | 11,622.36 |
| 19 | — | 1,000.00 | — | 87.17 | 10,709.53 |
| 20 | — | 1,000.00 | — | 80.32 | 9,789.85 |
| 21 | — | 1,000.00 | — | 73.42 | 8,863.27 |
| 22 | — | 1,000.00 | — | 66.47 | 7,929.74 |
| 23 | — | 1,000.00 | — | 59.47 | 6,989.21 |
| 24 | — | 1,000.00 | — | 52.42 | 6,041.63 |
| 25 | — | 1,000.00 | — | 45.31 | 5,086.94 |
| 26 | — | 1,000.00 | — | 38.15 | 4,125.09 |
| 27 | — | 1,000.00 | — | 30.94 | 3,156.03 |
| 28 | — | 1,000.00 | — | 23.67 | 2,179.70 |
| 29 | — | 1,000.00 | — | 16.35 | 1,196.05 |
| 30 | — | 1,000.00 | — | 8.97 | 205.02 |
| 31 | — | 206.56 | — | 1.54 | 0.00 |
Schedule — Snowball
| Month | Credit card | Personal loan | Store instalments | Interest | Remaining |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 180.00 | 400.00 | 420.00 | 255.00 | 25,755.00 |
| 2 | 180.00 | 400.00 | 420.00 | 247.71 | 25,002.71 |
| 3 | 180.00 | 400.00 | 420.00 | 240.36 | 24,243.07 |
| 4 | 180.00 | 400.00 | 420.00 | 232.92 | 23,475.99 |
| 5 | 180.00 | 400.00 | 420.00 | 225.41 | 22,701.40 |
| 6 | 180.00 | 400.00 | 420.00 | 217.81 | 21,919.21 |
| 7 | 529.35 | 400.00 | 70.65 | 210.15 | 21,129.36 |
| 8 | 600.00 | 400.00 | — | 200.36 | 20,329.72 |
| 9 | 600.00 | 400.00 | — | 190.03 | 19,519.75 |
| 10 | 600.00 | 400.00 | — | 179.55 | 18,699.30 |
| 11 | 600.00 | 400.00 | — | 168.92 | 17,868.22 |
| 12 | 600.00 | 400.00 | — | 158.14 | 17,026.36 |
| 13 | 600.00 | 400.00 | — | 147.20 | 16,173.56 |
| 14 | 600.00 | 400.00 | — | 136.12 | 15,309.68 |
| 15 | 600.00 | 400.00 | — | 124.88 | 14,434.56 |
| 16 | 600.00 | 400.00 | — | 113.47 | 13,548.03 |
| 17 | 35.64 | 964.36 | — | 101.91 | 12,649.94 |
| 18 | — | 1,000.00 | — | 94.87 | 11,744.81 |
| 19 | — | 1,000.00 | — | 88.09 | 10,832.90 |
| 20 | — | 1,000.00 | — | 81.25 | 9,914.15 |
| 21 | — | 1,000.00 | — | 74.36 | 8,988.51 |
| 22 | — | 1,000.00 | — | 67.41 | 8,055.92 |
| 23 | — | 1,000.00 | — | 60.42 | 7,116.34 |
| 24 | — | 1,000.00 | — | 53.37 | 6,169.71 |
| 25 | — | 1,000.00 | — | 46.27 | 5,215.98 |
| 26 | — | 1,000.00 | — | 39.12 | 4,255.10 |
| 27 | — | 1,000.00 | — | 31.91 | 3,287.01 |
| 28 | — | 1,000.00 | — | 24.65 | 2,311.66 |
| 29 | — | 1,000.00 | — | 17.34 | 1,329.00 |
| 30 | — | 1,000.00 | — | 9.97 | 338.97 |
| 31 | — | 341.51 | — | 2.54 | 0.00 |
Assumptions: a fixed rate on every debt, interest posted monthly (balance × rate / 12, rounded to the cent), no fees, commissions or payment holidays, first payment this month. The last payment on each debt is partial. The schedule runs for at most 1,200 months.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between the avalanche and snowball methods?
Both pay the minimum on every debt and send the surplus of your budget to a single debt. The avalanche targets the highest interest rate, which minimises total interest. The snowball targets the smallest balance, so the first debt disappears fastest — good for motivation, but it usually costs a little more interest.
Which strategy is better?
Mathematically the avalanche never loses: with the same budget it yields the lowest total interest and no longer payoff time. The gap is often small, though, and the snowball delivers quicker visible wins. The calculator shows both figures — if the interest difference is small, pick the method you will actually stick to.
What happens to the payment once a debt is cleared?
The budget stays the same, so the money that used to go to the cleared debt automatically flows to the priority debt. That is the rolling payment effect: with every closed debt the surplus grows and the remaining debts vanish faster and faster.
Why must the budget be at least the sum of the minimum payments?
A minimum payment is a contractual obligation — missing it means arrears, penalty interest and a credit-file entry. The model assumes every minimum is paid on time and only optimises the surplus. If the budget does not cover the minimums, or even the monthly interest, the calculator shows a message instead of a result.
How are interest and the final payment calculated?
Each month every debt accrues interest equal to balance × rate / 12, rounded to the cent; the payment covers interest first, then principal. The last payment on a debt is partial — you pay only what is left. The model ignores fees, insurance and rate changes, so real-world costs may differ.
Educational estimate only. Not medical, tax, legal or financial advice.