Money tool
Which debt do you pay first?
Put them all in. The order you clear them in changes what the whole thing costs and how long it takes — and the two standard orders disagree.
- Last reviewed
- Method
- Avalanche and snowball, month by month
- Your figures
- Stay in this browser
This is the number that decides everything. Even a little changes the finish date.
How the plan works
Every debt gets its minimum each month. Everything left over goes at one target debt. When that debt clears, the payment it was taking rolls onto the next — which is why the last debts fall so much faster than the first.
Debt free in
2 years 7 months
Clear by May 2029
$2,483
Total interest
$19,483
Total paid
$17,000
You owe now
The other order, for comparison
Smallest balance first takes 2 years 7 months and costs $2,483 in interest — the same, with these numbers. With few debts, or a large extra payment, the two orders often agree.
Highest rate first always costs the least interest. Smallest balance first clears whole debts sooner, which some people need in order to keep going. The gap between the two is usually smaller than the gap between doing either and doing neither.
What the extra $200 a month is doing
On minimums alone this takes 4 years 5 months and costs $5,554. The extra saves $3,071 and finishes 1 year 10 months sooner.
The order they clear in
- 1Credit cardApril 2028$992
- 2Car loanMay 2029$1,491
When each one clears, and what it cost in interest along the way.
A guide, not a quote. Balances are assumed to stay where they are. Spending on a card while you clear it, or a promotional rate ending, will both move the date — worth rerunning when either happens.
How this works
The rollover
budget = every minimum + whatever extra you can find
- The budget stays the same every month, all the way through
- When one debt clears, the payment it was taking rolls onto the next
- Avalanche sends the extra to the highest rate; snowball to the smallest balance
Why both strategies beat paying minimums
The mechanism that clears debt quickly is not which debt you choose first. It is that the total you pay each month never falls. Pay the minimums on everything, send every spare unit at one chosen debt, and when that debt disappears do not pocket its payment — add it to the next one.
That rollover is why the last debt in a plan clears far faster than it could on its own: by the time it is the only one left, it is receiving every payment that used to be spread across all of them.
Avalanche and snowball, on the same debts
Take three debts: a card of 60,000 at 36% with a 2,000 minimum, a personal loan of 150,000 at 14% with a 4,000 minimum, and a store card of 20,000 at 24% with an 800 minimum. Add 3,000 a month on top of the minimums.
Avalanche — highest rate first — clears everything in 30 months for 55,640 in interest. The 36% card goes at month 16, the store card at month 18, the loan at month 30.
Snowball — smallest balance first — also finishes in 30 months, for 58,712 in interest. But the first debt is gone at month 6 rather than month 16.
So avalanche is cheaper by 3,072, and snowball gets a whole debt off the list ten months sooner. That is the real trade: a few percent of interest against visible progress early. Neither is wrong, and both are enormously better than paying minimums.
What this assumes
The plan models a steady world, which is what makes the comparison fair rather than realistic.
- Nothing new is borrowed on any of the accounts while the plan runs.
- Rates stay where they are, and no promotional rate expires mid-plan.
- The budget is paid in full every month, including the extra.
- Interest is applied monthly on the remaining balance of each debt.
Questions people ask
Which should I actually choose?
If the interest difference between the two is small — and on most real sets of debts it is — choose the one you will stick to. A snowball you finish beats an avalanche you abandon in month four. If one debt is at a punitive rate and dwarfs the others in cost, the avalanche advantage grows and is worth taking.
What if I cannot cover all the minimums?
Then this is not the right tool yet, and the plan will say so rather than pretend. Missing minimums adds fees and damages credit faster than interest does. Talk to the lenders before missing a payment — reduced-payment arrangements and hardship plans exist, and they are far better entered deliberately than discovered after a default.
Should I pay off a 0% debt early?
Only in the run-up to the promotional rate ending. Until then it is costing nothing, so every spare unit does more good against a debt that is charging you. What matters is the date the rate changes: work backwards from it so the balance is gone before it arrives.
Does clearing debts in this order affect my credit?
Broadly, lowering balances helps and closing accounts can hurt, because it reduces your available credit and can shorten your credit history. Clearing a card does not mean you must close it. The ordering here is chosen for cost and momentum, not for a credit score.
Method and figures last reviewed . Every worked example here is produced by the same calculation the page runs — enter the same inputs above and the numbers will match.