Debt Payoff Calculator

The Debt Payoff Calculator shows you exactly how extra payments accelerate your path to debt freedom — and how much interest you save in the process.

Inputs

• ›Debt Balance — total amount you owe
• ›Interest Rate (APR) — annual interest rate on the debt
• ›Minimum Monthly Payment — the required minimum
• ›Extra Monthly Payment — any amount above the minimum you can contribute

What It Calculates

• ›Payoff date with minimum payments only
• ›Payoff date with extra payments
• ›Time saved — the difference in months (and years)
• ›Interest saved — how much less you pay in total interest
• ›Month-by-month breakdown — full amortization schedule

Why Extra Payments Matter So Much

Interest accrues on your remaining balance. Every extra dollar you put toward principal reduces the balance that interest is calculated on next month — creating a compounding effect in reverse. Even modest extra payments have an outsized impact on high-interest debt.

Using This with Your Budget

After running the calculator, head to the Budget Builder and add this debt to the Debts section. BetterBudgets' algorithm will incorporate it into your full multi-debt payoff strategy, potentially finding an even more efficient sequence than targeting it individually.

Multiple Debts

For a multi-debt strategy, the BetterBudgets Budget Builder handles this natively — it sequences your debts optimally across all of them simultaneously. Use this calculator to evaluate a single debt in isolation.