$600 Extra/Month, avalanche Method
Payoff projection for a 3-debt, $31,700 example balance. Use the calculator below to enter your own debts.
Time to Pay Off All Debts
2.6 years
Example
Paying $780/month in minimums plus $600 extra toward 3 debts totaling $31,700 using the Avalanche (highest rate first) method clears everything in about 2.6 years, costing $6,144 in interest.
Total Balance
$31,700
Monthly Payment (min + extra)
$1,380
Total Interest Cost
$6,144
Snowball Comparison
$9,202 interest, 2.9 yrs
Balance vs. interest paid
- Original Balance: $31,700
- Interest Paid: $6,144
What Is a Debt Payoff Plan?
A debt payoff plan lists every balance you owe — credit cards, personal loans, medical bills, auto loans, or a mix — alongside its interest rate and minimum payment, then applies any spare cash toward one target debt at a time until everything reaches zero. The plan works the same way regardless of debt type: only the interest rate and minimum payment matter to the math.
The avalanche method targets the highest-rate debt first, which minimizes total interest paid mathematically. The snowball method targets the smallest balance first instead, trading a bit more interest for the psychological win of eliminating a full debt sooner — often the difference that keeps people motivated to stick with a payoff plan.
Combined remaining balance over time
Year-by-Year Payoff Schedule
| Year | Paid This Year | Interest Paid | Remaining Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $16,560 | $4,258 | $19,398 |
| 2 | $15,210 | $1,711 | $5,899 |
| 3 | $6,074 | $175 | $0 |
How Is Multi-Debt Payoff Calculated?
Each month, every debt is charged interest and receives at least its minimum payment. Any extra money — plus the minimum payments freed up from debts that have already been paid off — is directed entirely at one "target" debt, chosen by your selected strategy, until every balance reaches zero.
Why Avalanche Saves More Money
Interest accrues fastest on the highest-rate balance, so eliminating that balance first stops the most expensive interest charges as early as possible — mathematically, this always produces the lowest total interest cost of any fixed-payment strategy, whether the debt is a 24% credit card or a 12% personal loan.
Why Snowball Still Works for Many People
Behavioral research on debt payoff (notably popularized by financial educator Dave Ramsey) found that people who use the snowball method are more likely to stick with their plan to completion, because eliminating a full balance — regardless of its interest rate — provides a motivating sense of progress that a slowly-shrinking high-balance debt doesn't.
Debt Consolidation as an Alternative
Instead of juggling several balances, some borrowers roll everything into a single consolidation loan at one lower rate and one fixed payment. Consolidation only helps if the new rate (after fees) is genuinely lower than your current average rate — otherwise you're just repackaging the same debt. Our Debt Consolidation Calculator compares both paths side by side.
Example — Your Current Inputs
Paying $780/month in minimums plus $600 extra toward 3 debts totaling $31,700 using the Avalanche (highest rate first) method clears everything in about 2.6 years, costing $6,144 in interest.
Additional Example — Two Debts, No Extra Payment
A $6,000 personal loan at 13% with a $180 minimum, plus a $2,500 medical bill at 8% with a $75 minimum, paid with no extra money take about 3.1 years to clear and cost roughly $980 in combined interest, versus under 2 years with just $150/month extra applied via avalanche.
About These Parameters
- Balance, Rate & Minimum Payment (per debt)
- Enter up to four debts of any type — credit cards, personal loans, medical bills, auto loans, or private student loans. Leave a debt's balance at 0 to exclude it. Minimum payments usually appear on your monthly statement.
- Extra Monthly Payment
- Any amount beyond the combined minimums that you can consistently commit to debt payoff each month — even a modest extra amount compounds into a significantly faster payoff and lower total interest.
- Strategy
- Avalanche minimizes total interest; snowball prioritizes early wins for motivation. This calculator shows both so you can weigh the tradeoff for your own situation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which method is objectively better?
Avalanche always produces equal or lower total interest than snowball for the same extra payment amount. Snowball can still be the better choice if it's the one you'll actually stick with to the end.
Does it matter what type of debt I include?
No — the calculator only cares about balance, interest rate, and minimum payment. Mixing a credit card, a personal loan, and a medical bill in the same plan works exactly like mixing four credit cards.
What if I can't afford all the minimum payments?
This calculator assumes all minimums are paid on time every month. If that's not currently possible, consider contacting a nonprofit credit counseling agency about a debt management plan before missed payments and penalty rates make the situation worse.