When is my debt snowball done?
List your debts to see the debt snowball in action, smallest balance first with each payment rolled into the next, and how it compares with paying the highest rate first.
- Months to be debt-free
- 31
Paying $765.00 a month, you are debt-free in 31 months and pay $3,818.41 in interest.
- Paid each month
- $765.00
- Total interest
- $3,818.41
- Total paid
- $23,118.41
- Payoff order
- Medical bill (month 5), Personal loan (month 14), Credit card (month 27), Car loan (month 31)
- Debt-free date
- April 2029
- Interest the extra saves
- $1,693.72
- Months sooner
- 10
- Avalanche interest
- $3,423.68
- Saved vs the avalanche
- -$394.73
- Months
- 31
Answer for the example date Wednesday, September 30, 2026. It changes to today's date when the page loads.
Months to be debt-free: 31. Paying $765.00 a month, you are debt-free in 31 months and pay $3,818.41 in interest.
How fast does the debt fall?
Where does each year of payments go?
What does every month look like?
The results are estimates for information only. They are not financial, tax, or legal advice. Check the numbers with your lender or a qualified professional before you decide. Terms of use
How to calculate
Computes the debt-free date, the payoff order, and the total interest of the debt snowball method (smallest balance first, payments rolled over) for up to ten debts, compared with the avalanche method.
Example with the default inputs (Your debts [Name Medical bill, Balance $800.00, APR 0%, Minimum payment $40.00; Name Credit card, Balance $6,200.00, APR 23.9%, Minimum payment $185.00; Name Car loan, Balance $9,500.00, APR 7.9%, Minimum payment $295.00; Name Personal loan, Balance $2,800.00, APR 15.9%, Minimum payment $95.00], Extra each month $150.00, Start date September 30, 2026) on the example date Wednesday, September 30, 2026: Paying $765.00 a month, you are debt-free in 31 months and pay $3,818.41 in interest.
Method: Each month: interest = balance × APR ÷ 1200 on every debt; pay each debt its monthly payment; the rest of the budget (all the payments plus the extra) goes to the debts in payoff order, so a paid-off debt’s payment rolls into the next.
- Interest is charged monthly on each balance at its APR ÷ 12; rates and payments do not change.
- The monthly budget stays the same until every debt is paid off, so the payment of a paid-off debt rolls to the next one.
- Snowball order is by the balances you enter (smallest first); avalanche order is by APR (highest first); ties keep the order of the rows.
- No new charges are added to the debts.
- Values are not rounded to the cent between months; only the display is rounded.
Worked examples
Each example is checked against the calculator on every build.
- Your debts Medical bill 800 0 40; Credit card 6200 23.9 185; Car loan 9500 7.9 295; Personal loan 2800 15.9 95, Extra each month $150.00 gives Months to be debt-free 31, Paid each month $765.00, Total interest $3,818.41, Payoff order Medical bill (month 5), Personal loan (month 14), Credit card (month 27), Car loan (month 31), Interest the extra saves $1,693.72, Months sooner 10, Avalanche interest $3,423.68, Saved vs the avalanche -$394.73.Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, How to reduce your debt. https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/blog/how-reduce-your-debt/
- Your debts A 500 0 50; B 1500 0 50, Extra each month $100.00, Start date 2026-10-01 gives Months to be debt-free 10, Total interest $0.00, Total paid $2,000.00, Months sooner 10, Payoff order A (month 4), B (month 10), Debt-free date 2027-08-01.Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, How to reduce your debt. https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/blog/how-reduce-your-debt/
- Your debts Loan 2000 0 100; Card 1000 12 100, Extra each month $0.00 gives Months to be debt-free 16, Total interest $58.98, Payoff order Card (month 11), Loan (month 16), Saved vs the avalanche $0.00.Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, How to reduce your debt. https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/blog/how-reduce-your-debt/
How it works
Each debt has a balance, an APR, and a monthly payment. The monthly budget is the sum of every debt's payment plus the extra, and it stays the same every month.
- Snowball order: the debts from the smallest balance you enter to the largest, set once at the start. Ties keep the order of the rows.
- Each month, for every debt not yet paid off: add interest = balance × APR ÷ 1200.
- Then pay each debt its monthly payment, or its whole balance when that is smaller.
- Then the rest of the budget goes to the debts in snowball order: the first debt with a balance gets as much as it needs, then the next, until the budget is used up. A paid-off debt's payment rolls into the next one this way.
- Totals: the months until every balance is 0; total interest is the sum of each month's interest; total paid is what you owe today plus the interest. The debt-free date, with a start date, is that many months after it. Each debt's payoff month is when its balance reaches 0, and the payoff order lists the debts by that month (ties in row order).
- No answer: when the budget is not more than the first month's interest on all the debts, or when the plan runs past 600 months (50 years).
- Interest the extra saves: the snowball with no extra payment, minus the interest with it; months sooner is the difference in months. It is shown when the extra is more than 0 and the plan with no extra also ends.
- The avalanche method: the same payments with the highest APR first (ties in row order). The difference is the avalanche's interest minus the snowball's interest, so it is negative when the avalanche costs less. It is shown when that plan ends too.
Assumptions
- Interest is charged monthly at APR ÷ 12 on each balance; the rates and payments do not change.
- No new charges or fees are added to the debts.
- Payments are made at the end of each month.
- Values are not rounded to the cent between months; only the display is rounded.
- The example debts are illustrations, not typical figures.
Worked examples by hand
Two interest-free debts with $100 extra. A owes $500 and B owes $1,500, each paying $50, so the budget is $200. A is smaller and gets the extra: $150 in months 1 to 3, then its last $50 in month 4, which leaves $100 for B. B pays $50 for three months, $150 in month 4 ($1,200 left), then $200 a month, so it is gone in month 10. Payoff order: A (month 4), B (month 10); $0 interest; $2,000 paid. With no extra it takes 20 months, so the extra saves 10 months. Starting October 1, 2026, the last payment is in August 2027.
A card and an interest-free loan, no extra. The card owes $1,000 at 12% and the loan $2,000 at 0%, each paying $100. The card is smaller, so it is first. At 1% a month the card pays $100 for 10 months ($58.40 left after month 10) and $58.98 in month 11, so its interest is $58.98. The loan pays $100 for 10 months, then $141.02 in month 11 ($858.98 left), then $200 a month, so it is paid off in month 16. The card also has the higher APR, so the avalanche is the same plan: the difference is $0.
The four example debts with $150 extra (medical bill $800 at 0% paying $40; credit card $6,200 at 23.9% paying $185; car loan $9,500 at 7.9% paying $295; personal loan $2,800 at 15.9% paying $95). The budget is $765. The snowball order is medical bill, personal loan, credit card, car loan. Month by month, they are paid off in months 5, 14, 27, and 31: 31 months and $3,818.41 of interest. With no extra it takes 41 months and $5,512.13, so the extra saves $1,693.72 and 10 months. The avalanche pays the same debts in 30 months with $3,423.68 of interest, $394.73 less.
Other questions people ask
What is the debt snowball method?
You list your debts from the smallest balance to the largest, pay the minimum on all of them, and put every spare dollar on the smallest. When it is gone, its payment goes to the next smallest, so the amount aimed at each debt grows like a rolling snowball.
How is the snowball different from the avalanche?
The avalanche pays the highest interest rate first instead of the smallest balance. It usually costs less interest; the snowball pays off whole debts sooner, which keeps some people going. For the example debts, the avalanche would save $394.73 of interest and one month.
Why does my total monthly payment stay the same?
That is how the snowball works: the payment of a paid-off debt is not spent elsewhere but added to the next debt. The calculator keeps your total monthly payment fixed until the last debt is paid.
Does the snowball order change as balances fall?
Not on this page. The order is set once, from the balances you enter, the way the method is usually taught. Ties keep the order of your rows.
How much does an extra payment speed things up?
With the example debts, $150 a month on top of the minimums clears everything 10 months sooner and saves $1,693.72 in interest.
What if the calculator says the debts are never paid off?
Your payments do not cover the first month’s interest, or the plan would take more than 50 years. Add an extra payment until it ends.