Debt Snowball Calculator
The debt snowball method pays the smallest balance first while making minimums on everything else. Quick wins matter when motivation is the bottleneck — seeing one card hit zero can keep you going through a long payoff. This example shows three debts with a $500 budget; snowball clears the $2,100 card before the larger balances.
Controls below let you swap in your real balances and minimums. Avalanche is computed alongside for an honest interest comparison. Download the snowball schedule as PDF or CSV. Nothing you type is uploaded or stored.
Compare strategies, not products. We do not recommend lenders, consolidation loans, or balance-transfer cards.
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Avalanche (highest rate first)
Payoff: 38 months
Total interest: $3,177.55
First debt cleared: month 26
Snowball (smallest balance first)
Payoff: 39 months
Total interest: $3,302.31
First debt cleared: month 13
Avalanche: 38 months · $3,177.55 interest
Snowball: 39 months · $3,302.31 interest
Avalanche saves $124.76 in interest compared to snowball.
Snowball clears your first debt 13 months sooner.
Paying only minimums costs $3,378.12 more in interest than avalanche.
Snowball clear order
- 1. Mastercard — month 13
- 2. Visa — month 31
- 3. Car loan — month 39
| Month | Debt | Payment | Interest | Principal | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Visa | $1,440.00 | $1,065.71 | $374.29 | $4,425.71 |
| 1 | Mastercard | $2,220.00 | $245.31 | $1,974.69 | $125.31 |
| 1 | Car loan | $2,340.00 | $498.25 | $1,841.75 | $6,658.25 |
| 2 | Visa | $3,475.00 | $763.39 | $2,711.61 | $1,714.10 |
| 2 | Mastercard | $127.40 | $2.09 | $125.31 | $0.00 |
| 2 | Car loan | $2,340.00 | $374.92 | $1,965.08 | $4,693.17 |
| 3 | Visa | $1,830.93 | $116.83 | $1,714.10 | $0.00 |
| 3 | Car loan | $3,865.00 | $226.72 | $3,638.28 | $1,054.89 |
| 4 | Car loan ✓ | $1,063.98 | $9.09 | $1,054.89 | $0.00 |
The Handy Pages · thehandypages.com
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