# When is my debt snowball done?

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.

- Page: https://www.acalculator.org/finance/debt-snowball-calculator
- JSON spec: https://www.acalculator.org/finance/debt-snowball-calculator.json
- Version: 4c951bec0b96

## Default answer

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.

## Inputs

| Key | Label | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| debts | Your debts | One row per debt: a name, what you owe, the yearly interest rate (APR), and the monthly payment. |
| extra | Extra each month | An amount paid every month on top of all the minimum payments, to the debt the method picks. |
| start | Start date | The day you start the plan. The first payment is one month later. |

## Outputs

| Key | Label | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| months | Months to be debt-free | How many months of payments clear every debt. |
| budget | Paid each month | All the monthly payments plus the extra: the same every month until the last one. |
| interest | Total interest | All the interest paid on all the debts. |
| paid | Total paid | What you owe today plus all the interest. |
| order | Payoff order | The debts in the order they are paid off, with the month each is cleared. |
| debtFree | Debt-free date | The month of the last payment, when a start date is given. |
| saved | Interest the extra saves | The interest with no extra payment minus the interest with it, both in the same order. |
| sooner | Months sooner | How many months sooner the debts are paid off with the extra payment. |
| otherInterest | Avalanche interest | The total interest if the same payments went to the debts in the avalanche order. |
| difference | Saved vs the avalanche | The interest with the avalanche minus the interest with this one; negative when this one costs more. |

## 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.

## Assumptions

- 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

1. debts = {"name":"Medical bill","balance":800,"rate":0,"payment":40} or {"name":"Credit card","balance":6200,"rate":23.9,"payment":185}, extra = $150.00 gives months = 31, budget = $765.00, interest = $3,818.41, order = Medical bill (month 5), Personal loan (month 14), Credit card (month 27), Car loan (month 31), saved = $1,693.72, sooner = 10, otherInterest = $3,423.68, difference = -$394.73. Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, How to reduce your debt. https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/blog/how-reduce-your-debt/.
2. debts = {"name":"A","balance":500,"rate":0,"payment":50} or {"name":"B","balance":1500,"rate":0,"payment":50}, extra = $100.00, start = 2026-10-01 gives months = 10, interest = $0.00, paid = $2,000.00, sooner = 10, order = A (month 4), B (month 10), debtFree = 2027-08-01. Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, How to reduce your debt. https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/blog/how-reduce-your-debt/.
3. debts = {"name":"Loan","balance":2000,"rate":0,"payment":100} or {"name":"Card","balance":1000,"rate":12,"payment":100}, extra = $0.00 gives months = 16, interest = $58.98, order = Card (month 11), Loan (month 16), difference = $0.00. Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, How to reduce your debt. https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/blog/how-reduce-your-debt/.

## FAQ

### 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.

## Sources

- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, How to reduce your debt (the snowball and the highest-rate-first approaches). https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/blog/how-reduce-your-debt/
- Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Advice: How to get out of debt. https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-get-out-debt
- Monthly interest on a balance at APR ÷ 12: Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.14 (periodic rate). https://www.consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/regulations/1026/14/