Debt Strategy Planner
Compare Snowball vs Avalanche strategies or simulate Debt Transfers to lower-rate accounts, with support for multi-rate segments, promo APR tracking, daily accrual, and smart payment allocation.
Each debt can have multiple balance segments · Daily interest (APR ÷ 365) · Promo cliff warnings · Payment efficiency metrics
Avalanche Method
Best for saving money
Pay the highest effective interest rate first to minimize total interest. Works best on paper, maximizes savings across all segments.
Snowball Method
Best for motivation
Pay the smallest total balance first for quick wins. Entire accounts close sooner, which reduces minimum obligations faster.
Debt Transfers
Move balances to lower rates
Simulate balance transfers or moving debt to a lower-rate credit line. See how refinancing high-APR debt changes your payoff timeline and total interest.
When a single account has multiple balance segments (e.g. a 0% promo + a regular balance), this rule controls which segment receives each dollar of payment — both minimum and extra.
Lowest APR First: Payments retire your low-rate balances first, leaving the high-rate balance to keep accruing. This is how most Canadian issuers apply your payments.
Apply one-time windfalls (tax refund, bonus) in a specific month. Each is applied to the top-priority debt first under each strategy — highest APR in Avalanche, smallest balance in Snowball.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between the Snowball and Avalanche method?
The Snowball method focuses on paying off the smallest total balance first. This creates quick wins that can help build motivation and momentum.
The Avalanche method focuses on paying off the balance with the highest effective interest rate first, which usually minimizes the total interest paid.
Avalanche often saves more money overall, while Snowball can be easier to stick with psychologically. This planner calculates both strategies and shows the exact difference in interest cost and payoff time for your situation.
Which debt payoff strategy saves the most money?
In most cases, the Avalanche method saves the most money because it prioritizes paying down balances with the highest interest rates first.
However, some people find it easier to stay motivated using the Snowball method, which eliminates smaller balances more quickly.
The best strategy is the one you can consistently follow. This planner calculates both approaches using your actual balances and interest rates so you can see the exact difference in total interest and payoff time.
How do balance transfers affect a debt payoff strategy?
A balance transfer moves debt from one credit card to another, often with a 0% promotional interest rate for a limited period.
If used carefully, balance transfers can reduce interest costs and accelerate payoff. However, they may also include transfer fees and a promotional expiry date, after which the balance converts to the card’s regular APR.
This planner models balance transfers as separate promotional balance segments with their own interest rates and expiry dates. This allows you to see how a promotional period affects both the Snowball and Avalanche strategies and whether paying off the transferred balance before the promotion expires changes the outcome.
What are balance segments and why do they matter for strategy?
A single credit card can carry multiple balances with different interest rates at the same time. Each portion of the balance is tracked as a separate segment with its own APR and sometimes its own promotional expiry date. This matters because the Avalanche method targets the highest-rate segment across all your accounts, while Snowball targets accounts by total balance. Modeling segments accurately can change which strategy wins.
How does daily accrual change the comparison?
Credit cards usually calculate interest daily, not monthly. Because interest accrues every day, even small differences in when balances are reduced can change the total interest paid over time.
Both the Snowball and Avalanche simulations in this planner use daily interest accrual, which makes the comparison more realistic.
What are promo cliff warnings?
A promo cliff occurs when a 0% or low-rate promotional period expires and the remaining balance converts to the card’s regular APR. Some promotional offers also include deferred interest, where interest accumulates during the promotional period but is charged retroactively if the balance is not fully paid before the promotion ends.
This planner warns you when a promotional period is about to expire and shows the balance that must be paid before the deadline to avoid the interest increase.
How do lump sum payments work?
You can enter a one-time payment (for example a bonus, tax refund, or savings transfer) and the month when you plan to apply it. Under the Avalanche strategy, the lump sum is applied to the highest-interest segment first. Under the Snowball strategy, the lump sum is applied to the account with the smallest remaining balance first.
Both simulations apply the same lump sum so you can see how each strategy affects your payoff timeline and total interest.