What you get
A single Excel workbook that runs the numbers on two proven debt-payoff strategies side by side, so you can see exactly which one costs you less interest and gets you to zero faster. Every calculation updates automatically when you change a balance, rate, or payment amount. No macros, no subscriptions, no financial-advice jargon.
Who it's for
Anyone carrying more than one debt — credit cards, student loans, a car note, personal loans — who wants a clear, honest picture of their options before deciding where to throw extra money each month. It is especially useful at the moment you finally have a small amount of breathing room in your budget and want to use it well.
What's inside
- Debt Setup sheet — enter each debt's current balance, annual interest rate, and minimum payment in one table; all other sheets pull from here automatically.
- Strategy Comparison sheet — displays total interest paid, total months to payoff, and the exact debt-elimination order for both the debt-snowball (smallest balance first) and debt-avalanche (highest rate first) methods in a clean side-by-side layout.
- Extra payment input — a single cell where you set how much above the minimums you can contribute each month; changing it instantly recalculates both strategies.
- Monthly Schedule sheet — a full month-by-month breakdown showing exactly how much flows to each individual debt under the snowball strategy and the precise month each balance reaches zero.
- What-If Scenarios sheet — models the effect of adding a fixed extra amount (set to $200 by default, fully editable) to see how much sooner your payoff date arrives and how much interest you avoid under either strategy.
- Payoff timeline summary — a plain-language summary row on the Comparison sheet translating month counts into calendar dates so the finish line feels real.
- Unlocked, formula-visible cells — every formula is accessible so you can audit the math, adjust assumptions, or extend the schedule if your situation changes.
How to use it
Download the .xlsx file and open it in Microsoft Excel or upload it to Google Sheets. Start on the Debt Setup sheet, fill in your debts row by row, then enter your extra monthly payment. From there, move through the remaining sheets in order — Comparison, Monthly Schedule, What-If — each one building on the data you already entered.