Guides
Debt payoff guides
Plain-English explainers to help you choose a strategy and stick to it.
Which guide should you read first?
Start with the budgeting guide if you do not yet know how much you can overpay each month, because every other decision depends on that number. If you know your surplus but not which method to use, read snowball vs avalanche. If you have already settled on the snowball, the method guide covers running it properly.
- Budgeting to clear debt — for anyone who does not have a monthly extra payment figure yet, or whose current one keeps failing. Covers finding the surplus and making it survive a bad month.
- Snowball vs avalanche — for anyone deciding between the two. Covers what the interest difference actually costs and which people tend to stick with.
- The debt snowball method — for anyone who has chosen the snowball. Covers the mechanics of rolling payments forward and how to run it without a calculator.
Read in that order and each one feeds the next: a surplus you can sustain, a method you will stick with, then the discipline to follow it. If you would rather see your own numbers first, the debt payoff calculators take a couple of minutes and the guides will make more sense afterwards.
What these guides cover — and what they don't
They cover self-managed payoff plans for unsecured debt: credit cards, store cards, personal loans, auto loans and buy-now-pay-later, where you intend to clear the full amount you owe and just want the fastest sensible order.
Three things are deliberately out of scope:
- Secured and priority debt. Your mortgage, property tax, rent or mortgage arrears, utility bills, court-ordered payments and money owed to the IRS are paid in full first, because they carry enforcement consequences that unsecured debts do not. For mortgage refinance decisions, see the mortgage calculators.
- Formal debt solutions. Debt Management Plans, debt settlement, and Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy are a different route with real consequences for your credit and your assets. The rules and exemptions vary by state.
- Advice on your own situation. These are general explainers, not regulated financial advice, and nothing here is tailored to you.
If the minimum payments alone are already more than you can afford, a payoff plan is not the right tool and no ordering strategy fixes it. Free, reputable help is available from a nonprofit credit counseling agency through the NFCC — and you should be wary of for-profit debt-settlement firms that charge upfront for help you can get more cheaply.
Frequently asked questions
Are these guides financial advice?
No. They are general information about how debt payoff methods work, written for a US audience. They are not regulated financial advice and they are not tailored to your circumstances. For advice on your own situation, speak to a licensed financial professional, or get free help from a nonprofit credit counseling agency via the NFCC.
Which guide should I read first?
If you do not yet know how much you can overpay each month, start with the budgeting guide, because every other decision depends on that number. If you know your surplus but not which method to use, read snowball vs avalanche. If you have already decided on the snowball and want to run it properly, read the debt snowball method guide.
Do these guides apply outside the US?
The mechanics of the snowball and avalanche methods are universal — they are just an ordering rule. The specifics here are US-focused: dollars, US minimum-payment conventions, the CARD Act, and US priority debts such as property tax and IRS balances. Treat the method as portable and the details as local.
What if I need a formal debt solution rather than a payoff plan?
These guides cover self-managed payoff plans, where you clear the full amount you owe. Formal solutions such as a Debt Management Plan, debt settlement, or Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy are a different route with different consequences for your credit and your assets. The rules and exemptions vary by state, so get advice before choosing one — and be wary of for-profit debt-settlement firms that charge upfront.