Debt snowball calculator
Smallest balance first. Each time one is gone, its payment rolls onto the next, so your payment snowballs until the last debt is stamped paid.
Your debts
Debt-free with the snowball
month 28
2 yrs 4 mo · $720 a month
The avalanche would save $187 more in interest.
Payoff order
- 1Store card$640 at 26.99% · interest paid $28Paidmonth 3
- 2Personal loan$2,600 at 13.5% · interest paid $201Paidmonth 11
- 3Visa$4,200 at 22.9% · interest paid $1,239Paidmonth 21
- 4Car loan$9,800 at 7.4% · interest paid $1,073Paidmonth 28
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How the debt snowball works
- List every debt from smallest balance to largest. Interest rates don’t decide the order.
- Pay the minimum on all of them, every month, so nothing goes late.
- Put every extra dollar on the smallest debt until it’s gone.
- Roll that whole payment onto the next-smallest: its minimum plus everything you were paying on the one you just killed.
- Repeat until the list is empty.
The point is momentum. Small debts disappear within months, the number of bills you juggle drops, and the payment aimed at each new target gets bigger. See it happen month by month in the step-through snowball explainer.
Example
With the example debts loaded above (a $640 store card, a $2,600 personal loan, a $4,200 Visa and a $9,800 car loan) and $200 a month extra, the snowball clears the store card in month 3. Its $35 minimum plus the $200 then go to the personal loan, which is gone before the end of the first year. The plan finishes in 28 months, versus more than six years on minimums alone.
Want a paper version?
The debt payoff tracker keeps the same list, lets you log each payment and prints as a one-page snowball worksheet you can stick on the fridge.
Questions people ask
What is a debt snowball calculator?
It builds a payoff plan using the debt snowball method: pay the minimum on every debt, put all extra money on the smallest balance, then roll that payment into the next-smallest when it’s gone. The calculator shows the order, the month each debt is paid off, your debt-free date and the total interest.
Is this the Dave Ramsey debt snowball?
Yes, it follows the method Dave Ramsey teaches as Baby Step 2: list debts smallest to largest regardless of interest rate (excluding the mortgage), pay minimums on all, and throw everything extra at the smallest. Ramsey suggests having a $1,000 starter emergency fund first so a surprise bill doesn’t go on a card.
Should I include my mortgage?
Most snowball plans leave the mortgage out and deal with it after consumer debts are gone, because it’s large, usually low-rate and would sit at the end of the list for years anyway. You can add it here if you want to see the full timeline.
What if two debts have the same balance?
The calculator breaks ties by putting the higher interest rate first, which costs you slightly less.
Why does my snowball plan cost more than the avalanche?
Because the snowball ignores interest rates. If a large debt carries the highest APR, it waits at the back of the line and keeps charging interest. Toggle to the avalanche above to see the dollar difference, then decide whether the faster early wins are worth it for you.