Debt · Payoff plan
Debt Payoff Calculator — Crush your debt.
See how throwing extra at a debt each month brings the payoff date — and the interest — right down.
What you enter
- Debt balance
- Interest rate (APR)
- Monthly payment
- Extra per month
How this is calculated
We amortise your debt at its interest rate twice — once at your current repayment and once with the extra added — and compare payoff time and total interest. Every extra dollar comes straight off the principal, which is what accelerates the payoff.
Common questions
Should I pay the highest rate or smallest balance first?
Highest rate first ("avalanche") is mathematically optimal. Smallest balance first ("snowball") gives quicker wins and helps some people stay on track. Both beat spreading extras evenly — concentrate the attack.
Should I invest instead of paying down debt?
Compare after-tax returns: paying down a 10% personal loan is a guaranteed 10% — hard to beat. For low-rate debt the answer is less obvious. High-rate consumer debt (cards, personal loans) is almost always the priority.
Does consolidating debts help?
It helps if the new rate is genuinely lower and you don't stretch the term (a lower repayment over more years can cost more in total). It hurts if consolidation frees up cards that get re-spent — the behaviour matters more than the mechanics.
How does it rank?
Once you have your result, see how your number compares against your demographic with our full money rank — by age, sex, state and household composition.
Methodology & data
INTEREST COMPOUNDS MONTHLY · INDICATIVE. Australian context, FY 2026–27 tax brackets by default (15% lowest marginal rate from 1 July 2026) with a financial-year selector on tax calculators. Calculations are indicative and based on simplified public models — not personal financial, tax or legal advice. See the full disclaimer.
Primary data sources
- Australian Taxation Office — Taxation Statistics — Individuals Tables 3A & 4A (income by age, sex & state) (2023–24)
- Australian Bureau of Statistics — Household Income and Wealth, Australia — net worth by age & net-worth quintiles (2019–20)
- Australian Taxation Office — Taxation Statistics — Individuals Table 22 (super balance by age) & Table 23A (age × sex) (2023–24)
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- Full money rank — vs your demographic
- Budget Planner — 33 lines across 9 categories
- Income rank by job & postcode
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