Your debts
| Debt | Balance | APR % | Min payment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Total debt over time - both strategies
The avalanche saves $212 in interest versus the snowball for your numbers.
Avalanche attack order
- 1Credit cardpaid off month 25
- 2Store cardpaid off month 28
- 3Car loanpaid off month 38
Snowball attack order
- 1Store cardpaid off month 10
- 2Credit cardpaid off month 28
- 3Car loanpaid off month 38
Your strategy battle plan
Your debt elimination battle plan
You are carrying $19,500 across 3 debts, with $500 in required minimums and $150 of extra firepower each month (total budget $650).
Avalanche (highest APR first) - the math winner
• Debt-free in 3 yrs 2 mos (Sep 2029), paying $4,950 in interest.
• Attack order: Credit card (month 25) → Store card (month 28) → Car loan (month 38).
Snowball (smallest balance first) - the motivation winner
• Debt-free in 3 yrs 2 mos (Sep 2029), paying $5,162 in interest.
• Attack order: Store card (month 10) → Credit card (month 28) → Car loan (month 38).
The verdict
Avalanche saves you $212 versus snowball. If you trust yourself to stay consistent, take the avalanche. If you need early wins to stay motivated, the snowball's first payoff at month 10 buys real psychological momentum - and costs only $212 more.
Execute it
• Automate every minimum payment so a missed due date never adds a penalty APR.
• Put the entire extra amount on ONE target debt - splitting it dilutes the rollover effect.
• When a debt dies, roll its full payment into the next target. The plan only works if freed-up cash stays in the plan.
How the snowball vs avalanche simulator works
The simulator runs your actual debts through both strategies month by month. Every month, each debt accrues interest at its APR divided by 12, every minimum payment is applied, and the entire extra budget attacks one target debt: the smallest balance first under the snowball method, or the highest APR first under the avalanche method. When a debt is eliminated, its minimum payment rolls into the attack budget - that rollover effect is why both methods dramatically outperform paying minimums alone.
The two methods usually finish within a few months of each other, but the interest difference can be significant. The avalanche is mathematically optimal because expensive debt dies first. The snowball wins on psychology: research on debt repayment behavior consistently finds that people who get a quick first win are more likely to stick with the plan. The simulator shows you the exact price of that motivation boost in your own numbers, so you can choose deliberately instead of guessing.
There's also a hybrid worth considering once you've seen both results: run the avalanche for the math, but if one debt is both small and nearly paid off, clear it first anyway for the psychological win, then switch to strict avalanche ordering for the rest. The simulator's payoff-order timeline makes it easy to spot when a debt is close enough to the front of the snowball queue that detouring for it costs almost nothing in extra interest.
Frequently asked questions
- Which is better, debt snowball or debt avalanche?
- Mathematically, the avalanche (highest APR first) always pays equal or less total interest. Behaviorally, the snowball (smallest balance first) delivers a faster first payoff, which helps many people stay motivated. Run both on your real debts - if the difference is small, take the snowball's momentum; if it's large, the avalanche is worth the patience.
- Should I include my mortgage or car loan in the simulation?
- Include any debt you actively want to eliminate early. Most people run the simulator with credit cards, personal loans, and car loans, and leave a low-rate mortgage out - the strategies matter most where APRs are high and balances are unsecured.
- What happens when one debt is paid off?
- Its entire minimum payment rolls into the extra budget and attacks the next target. This compounding of freed-up payments is the engine of both strategies - the simulator models it automatically, including mid-month cascades when a payment finishes a debt with money left over.
- Why does the simulator say my debts never pay off?
- If your combined budget doesn't cover the interest accruing across all debts, total debt grows instead of shrinking. Increase the extra monthly amount, or negotiate a lower APR on the most expensive debt, and re-run the simulation.
- Do I need to change my payment amounts every month?
- No - set the extra budget once and the simulator (and a real payoff plan) handles the rest automatically: each debt's minimum stays fixed until it's gone, and the freed-up minimum rolls into the attack budget the moment a debt closes. You only need to act again if your available budget genuinely changes.