Freelancer lens: Freelancers usually carry the full balance personally, which means the minimum payment is entirely your own problem rather than a payroll deduction. Clear revolving card balances before anything else: they carry the highest rates, most of them require proof of self-employment income to keep the limit open, and a maxed card can freeze the business account you invoice from. The avalanche method is usually right here because the rate difference between cards is real, but only if the extra payment survives a quiet month.
Why the snowball method often wins in real life
Research from the Harvard Business Review and others found that debt holders who paid smallest-balance-first were more likely to pay off all their debt, even though they paid more in interest. The reason is psychological: the quick first win reinforces the habit. Avalanche is the right answer on a spreadsheet; snowball is often the right answer for a human. This calculator shows both so you can decide which trade-off you want to make.
FAQ
Why does minimum-only take so long?
Because minimum payments are usually 1–3% of the balance or a flat $25, whichever is greater. On a card with 24% APR, the minimum is often less than the interest charged, so the balance grows or barely shrinks. A $5,000 balance at 24% APR with 2% minimum payment takes about 16 years and costs more in interest than the original balance.
What if I get a 0% balance transfer offer?
Then that card's APR becomes 0% for the promo period (usually 12–21 months). After the promo, the APR jumps to the cash-advance rate, often 25–30%. Pay the card off during the promo or the math gets much worse than the original. This calculator lets you set the APR to 0 to simulate that.
Should I stop contributing to retirement to pay off cards faster?
Almost never. If your employer matches retirement contributions, the match is a 50–100% instant return — beating any credit card APR. Always capture the full match first, then attack the debt. If there's no match, the rule of thumb is: if your card APR is above 10% and your expected investment return is below 6%, prioritize the debt.
Methodology
Each month, every card accrues interest = balance × (APR/12). The minimum payment is taken (the greater of the user input or interest + 1% of balance). Any leftover budget goes to the target card per strategy. When a card is paid off, its minimum payment rolls into the budget for the next target. The minimum-only simulation enforces no extra payment above the minimum on any card. Avalanche target = highest APR with positive balance; snowball target = smallest balance with positive balance. Source: standard amortization loop, identical to the algorithm in any consumer-finance textbook.