🔥 Payoff Plans

Build a debt payoff plan that actually burns

Pick a method, find the fuel, and watch every balance drop. Here is the whole system on one page.

The short version

Every debt payoff plan that works has the same four parts: a full list of what you owe, one target at a time, extra money pointed at that target, and a way to see progress. The method you choose only decides the order. Our Burn-Down Plan walks through all four in one evening.

List everything. Balance, APR and minimum payment for every card and loan.
Pick an order. Smallest balance first (snowball) or highest rate first (avalanche).
Find the fuel. Any extra dollars, even $25, go to the target debt only.
Roll it over. When a debt hits zero, its whole payment moves to the next one.

Snowball or avalanche?

The debt snowball pays the smallest balance first so you get a quick win and a freed-up payment fast. The debt avalanche pays the highest interest rate first, which costs less over time. If your rates are close together, the snowball usually wins on motivation. If one card is charging 29% and the rest are near 10%, the avalanche is hard to beat.

	Snowball	Avalanche
Order	Smallest balance first	Highest APR first
Best for	Motivation, many small debts	Lowest total interest
First win	Fast	Can take longer
Risk	Pays a bit more interest	Easier to quit early

There are variations too: the snowflake method adds tiny one-off payments whenever you save a few dollars, and debt stacking is simply the rollover rule applied with discipline.

Put your plan on paper

A plan you can see is a plan you keep. Use our free Burn-Down Calculator to get a debt-free date, then track it in a simple spreadsheet or a printable snowball worksheet. If you want the full walkthrough, read how to make a debt payoff plan in one evening.

Common questions

Wondering how long it will take to pay off your debt? The calculator answers that in seconds. Torn between extra payments and retirement? See pay off debt or invest. Working with a tight budget? Read paying off debt on a tight income. And if you are shopping for software, compare debt payoff apps vs. a spreadsheet first.

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