Debt Snowball Calculator
The snowball method clears the smallest balance first for a fast, visible win, then rolls that payment onto the next debt. Enter your balances and the extra you can add each month.
On top of minimum payments, rolled to the next debt as each clears.
- Total debt today
- $42,200
- Total interest
- $8,645
- Total paid
- $50,845
- Payoff order
- Store card → Credit card → Car loan → Student loan
Snowball and avalanche clear these debts on the same schedule, so pick whichever order you will actually keep to.
Use Left and Right Arrow, Home, or End to inspect data points.
| Method | Debt-free in | Total interest | Total paid | Order |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snowball | 6 yrs 4 mos | $8,645 | $50,845 | Store card → Credit card → Car loan → Student loan |
| Avalanche | 6 yrs 4 mos | $8,645 | $50,845 | Store card → Credit card → Car loan → Student loan |
Estimates only — not financial advice. They produce estimates based on the figures you enter and do not account for every fee, tax or change in rate.
- The result is a deterministic estimate from the inputs shown on this page.
- Fees, taxes and real-world terms not represented by an input are excluded.
- Confirm material decisions against original documents or a qualified professional.
The email includes this route only; calculator inputs are not attached.
Why smallest first works in practice
The snowball is deliberately not optimal on paper. It orders by balance because the first cleared debt arrives fastest that way — often within a month or two — and a debt that disappears entirely is a far stronger signal of progress than a large balance falling by 3%.
That matters because most payoff plans fail from abandonment, not arithmetic. A method that costs $800 more in interest and gets finished beats a cheaper method that stalls in month seven.
The rollover, and why it accelerates
Each cleared debt hands its minimum payment to the next one. Clear a $35-a-month store card and the next debt receives your extra amount plus that $35; clear a $120 card and the next receives your extra plus $155.
By the last debt the payment can be several times the original minimum. This is why the snowball feels slow at first and then suddenly fast — the same mechanism as the avalanche, just with a different ordering.
What the ordering actually costs
The gap between snowball and avalanche depends entirely on the spread between your rates. If everything sits between 5% and 7%, the difference is trivial. If you are carrying a 27% store card alongside a 4% student loan, ignoring rates gets expensive.
Run both on this page and look at the total-interest row. If the snowball costs you less than a few hundred dollars, take the motivation. If it costs thousands, consider putting the highest-rate debt first even if it is not the smallest.
Protect the plan while you run it
Two things sink a snowball. Adding new debt while paying off old debt — which resets progress and destroys morale. And having no cash buffer, so the first unexpected car repair goes straight back onto the card you just cleared.
A small starter emergency fund of $1,000–$2,000 before the snowball begins is the standard recommendation for exactly that reason. It costs a month or two of progress and prevents the most common relapse.