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A plan for paying off multiple debts

Compare highest-rate-first and smallest-balance-first repayment using the same monthly budget, with payoff timing, interest and a month-by-month balance path.

Your numbers / A transparent comparison

One budget. Two ways to prioritize.

Keep minimum payments covered, then direct the remaining monthly budget to one debt at a time.

Enter 1–10 debts. Zero-balance rows are excluded. Keep the total budget unchanged as accounts are cleared.

Debt 1
Debt 2
Debt 3

Editable hypothetical example.

The calculated scenario

Two priorities. One payment budget.

Highest-rate-first uses USD 1,811.84 of interest; smallest-balance-first uses USD 2,138.81. Compare the payoff order as well as the cost.

Opening debt
9,200.00USD
Monthly budget
500.00USD
Highest-rate-first payoff
Aug 2028
Smallest-balance-first payoff
Aug 2028
Debt remaining · USDSame scale · zero included · exact values below
04.6k9.2kHighest rate firstSmallest balance firstMonth 023
  • Highest rate first
  • Smallest balance first
Comparison figures
Comparison figures · hypothetical scenario; units shown in column headings
MethodPayoff monthsInterest to modeled end (USD)Payments to modeled end (USD)Remaining debt (USD)
Highest rate first231,811.8411,011.840.00
Smallest balance first232,138.8111,338.810.00
Payoff order and account totals
Account reconciliation
Account reconciliation · hypothetical scenario; units shown in column headings
MethodAccountPayoff monthInterest (USD)Payments (USD)Remaining (USD)
Highest rate firstCredit card16887.385,887.380.00
Highest rate firstStore account21729.983,729.980.00
Highest rate firstSmall personal loan23194.481,394.480.00
Smallest balance firstSmall personal loan534.961,234.960.00
Smallest balance firstStore account14409.973,409.970.00
Smallest balance firstCredit card231,693.886,693.880.00
Month-by-month figures
Monthly scenario data
Monthly scenario data · hypothetical scenario; units shown in column headings
MonthRate-first debt (USD)Balance-first debt (USD)Rate-first cumulative interest (USD)Balance-first cumulative interest (USD)Rate-first cumulative payments (USD)Balance-first cumulative payments (USD)
09,200.009,200.000.000.000.000.00
18,857.008,857.00157.00157.00500.00500.00
28,507.658,509.85307.65309.851,000.001,000.00
38,151.828,158.49451.82458.491,500.001,500.00
47,789.387,802.86589.38602.862,000.002,000.00
57,420.227,442.91720.22742.912,500.002,500.00
67,044.217,078.26844.21878.263,000.003,000.00
76,661.236,707.85961.231,007.853,500.003,500.00
86,271.126,331.611,071.121,131.614,000.004,000.00
95,873.765,949.441,173.761,249.444,500.004,500.00
105,469.015,561.251,269.011,361.255,000.005,000.00
115,056.735,166.931,356.731,466.935,500.005,500.00
124,636.774,766.391,436.771,566.396,000.006,000.00
134,208.994,359.531,508.991,659.536,500.006,500.00
143,773.243,946.251,573.241,746.257,000.007,000.00
153,329.363,525.181,629.361,825.187,500.007,500.00
162,877.213,095.681,677.211,895.688,000.008,000.00
172,416.792,657.591,716.791,957.598,500.008,500.00
181,949.622,210.741,749.622,010.749,000.009,000.00
191,475.611,754.951,775.612,054.959,500.009,500.00
20994.651,290.051,794.652,090.0510,000.0010,000.00
21506.65815.851,806.652,115.8510,500.0010,500.00
2211.72332.171,811.722,132.1711,000.0011,000.00
230.000.001,811.842,138.8111,011.8411,338.81

Read the assumptions

Interest is accrued monthly at the entered nominal annual rate divided by 12, rounded to cents per account. Entered dollar minimums stay fixed, all minimums are paid first, and unused payments roll into the priority debt in the same month. Priority order is set at the start from the entered rates or opening balances, and retained until each priority debt is cleared. Rate ties prefer a smaller opening balance; opening-balance ties prefer a higher rate. There are no new purchases, fees, promotional periods or penalties. Actual card statements often use daily interest and changing minimums.

The first payment falls in the selected month. Payoff dates are monthly estimates. A 600-month cap prevents an endless schedule; an incomplete plan is labeled rather than assigned a payoff date.

Concept reference: CFPB debt action plan.

Amounts are in USD. These are educational scenarios, not lender offers, guaranteed returns or personal advice. Submitted values are used to calculate a result and are not saved to a user profile. The calculation also works with the form submit button.

From the library

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