Dave Ramsey Debt Snowball Calculator
Your Debt Payoff Plan:
Enter your debts and additional monthly payment to start.
Understanding the Dave Ramsey Debt Snowball Method
The Dave Ramsey Debt Snowball method is a popular debt reduction strategy that focuses on psychological wins to keep you motivated. Unlike debt avalanche methods which prioritize paying off debts with the highest interest rates first, the Debt Snowball prioritizes paying off your smallest debts first, regardless of interest rate.
How the Debt Snowball Works:
- List Your Debts: Gather all your debts (excluding your mortgage) and list them from smallest balance to largest balance.
- Minimum Payments: Make minimum payments on all debts except for the smallest one.
- Attack the Smallest: Throw every extra dollar you can find at your smallest debt. Once it's paid off, take all the money you were paying on that debt (minimum payment + extra payments) and add it to the minimum payment of your next smallest debt.
- Repeat: Continue this process, rolling the payment amounts from each paid-off debt into the next smallest debt. This creates a "snowball" effect, as the amount you're paying on each subsequent debt grows larger and larger.
Key Principles of the Snowball Method:
- Behavioral Motivation: The primary goal is to achieve quick wins by paying off smaller debts quickly. This provides tangible proof of progress, which is crucial for long-term commitment.
- Simplicity: It's easy to understand and implement. You don't need to constantly track interest rates, just balances.
- Focus on Extra Payments: The method encourages finding "extra" money through budgeting, selling items, or cutting expenses to accelerate debt payoff.
The Role of the Calculator:
This calculator helps you visualize the Debt Snowball process. You input your various debts and an additional monthly payment you can afford to put towards debt reduction. The calculator then estimates how long it will take to pay off all your debts using the Debt Snowball strategy, showing you the order in which debts will be paid off and the total time to become debt-free.
When is the Debt Snowball Right for You?
The Debt Snowball is ideal for individuals and families who:
- Feel overwhelmed by debt and need quick wins to stay motivated.
- Have struggled with other debt repayment plans in the past.
- Are committed to finding extra money to accelerate their payoff.
While the Debt Avalanche method may save more money on interest over time, the Debt Snowball's psychological boost is often cited as its greatest strength, leading to higher success rates for many people.
Your Debts:
- ';
for (var i = 0; i < debts.length; i++) {
html += '
- '; html += '' + debts[i].name + ''; html += 'Balance: $' + debts[i].balance.toFixed(2); html += ' | Min Payment: $' + debts[i].minimumPayment.toFixed(2); html += ' '; html += ' '; } html += '
Payoff Order:
- ';
var totalInterestPaid = 0; // Snowball doesn't explicitly track interest, but we can estimate if we assume simple interest for minimums
var snowballAmount = 0;
var currentDebtIndex = 0;
// Initialize snowball amount with the smallest debt's minimum payment
if (remainingDebts.length > 0) {
snowballAmount = remainingDebts[0].minimumPayment;
}
while (remainingDebts.some(debt => debt.balance > 0)) {
months++;
var paymentApplied = 0;
var debtToPay = remainingDebts[currentDebtIndex];
if (!debtToPay.paidOff) {
// Calculate how much we can apply to the current smallest debt
var amountToApply = Math.min(debtToPay.balance, snowballAmount + extraMonthlyPayment); // Add extra to the smallest debt's payment
debtToPay.balance -= amountToApply;
paymentApplied += amountToApply;
// If the smallest debt is paid off, move to the next
if (debtToPay.balance <= 0) {
payoffDetailsHtml += '
- Paid off ' + debtToPay.name + ' ($' + debtToPay.originalBalance.toFixed(2) + ') in ' + months + ' months. '; debtToPay.paidOff = true; // Add the paid debt's minimum payment to the snowball for the next debt snowballAmount += debtToPay.minimumPayment; currentDebtIndex++; // Move to the next debt in the sorted list // If we just paid off the last debt, the loop will exit. if (currentDebtIndex >= remainingDebts.length) { // All debts are paid off. The loop condition `remainingDebts.some(debt => debt.balance > 0)` will handle exit. } else { // Ensure we correctly re-apply payments if we just finished a debt. // The snowballAmount now includes the just-paid debt's minimum. // We need to ensure that the *next* month's calculation uses the updated snowball amount. // The loop structure inherently does this by incrementing `months` and re-evaluating `snowballAmount`. } } } else { // This debt is already marked as paid off, move to the next. currentDebtIndex++; if (currentDebtIndex >= remainingDebts.length) { // This should ideally not happen if the loop condition is correct. // If it does, it implies all debts are accounted for and paid. break; } // Re-evaluate the smallest debt in the next iteration. continue; } // Distribute any remaining snowball payment to other minimums if needed, // or handle cases where minimums exceed available snowball + extra. // For simplicity in Snowball, we focus the entire snowball + extra on the target debt. // Any excess is what grows the snowball. // Ensure we don't loop infinitely if no progress is made. if (months > 10000) { // Safety break for potential infinite loops alert("Calculation took too long, possibly due to very large balances or small payments. Please check your inputs."); updateResultDisplay("Calculation error or too long."); return; } } // Recalculate total months based on the final paid-off status var totalMonths = 0; var tempDebts = JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(debts)); // Reset for accurate month count per debt var currentSnowball = 0; // This calculation needs to simulate month by month var monthlyPaymentCap = totalMinimumPayments + extraMonthlyPayment; var totalMonthsSimulated = 0; // Re-simulate month-by-month for accurate total months and payoff order var simulationMonths = 0; var tempDebtsForSim = JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(debts)); var activeSnowball = 0; // The amount available to throw at the smallest debt var currentDebtIndexSim = 0; tempDebtsForSim.sort(function(a, b) { return a.balance – b.balance; }); while (tempDebtsForSim.some(debt => debt.balance > 0)) { simulationMonths++; var paymentThisMonth = 0; var debtToAttack = tempDebtsForSim[currentDebtIndexSim]; // First, pay minimums on all *other* debts for (var i = 0; i < tempDebtsForSim.length; i++) { if (i !== currentDebtIndexSim && !tempDebtsForSim[i].paidOff) { var minPay = tempDebtsForSim[i].minimumPayment; var paymentOnThis = Math.min(minPay, tempDebtsForSim[i].balance); tempDebtsForSim[i].balance -= paymentOnThis; paymentThisMonth += paymentOnThis; if (tempDebtsForSim[i].balance <= 0) { tempDebtsForSim[i].paidOff = true; // No snowball gain from paying off others in this model } } } // Determine the amount available for the target debt (smallest) // This is the minimum payment of the target debt PLUS the snowball amount PLUS the extra payment var amountAvailableForTarget = (debtToAttack.minimumPayment || 0) + activeSnowball + extraMonthlyPayment; // Apply payment to the target debt var paymentToTarget = Math.min(debtToAttack.balance, amountAvailableForTarget); debtToAttack.balance -= paymentToTarget; paymentThisMonth += paymentToTarget; // Total paid this month across all debts // If the target debt is paid off if (debtToAttack.balance 10000) { alert("Simulation took too long. Check inputs."); updateResultDisplay("Simulation error."); return; } } totalMonthsSimulated = simulationMonths; var totalOriginalDebt = debts.reduce(function(sum, debt) { return sum + debt.originalBalance; }, 0); updateResultDisplay("Debt Free in approx. " + totalMonthsSimulated + " months!", payoffDetailsHtml); } function updateResultDisplay(message, detailsHtml = "") { var resultValueDiv = document.getElementById('result-value'); var payoffDetailsDiv = document.getElementById('payoffDetails'); resultValueDiv.textContent = message; payoffDetailsDiv.innerHTML = detailsHtml; } // Initial call to display debts (empty list) displayDebts();