DebtPayoffPlanforPoliceOfficers

The shift ended at 6 a.m. You wrote two reports, transported one prisoner, took one statement from a domestic that felt unresolved. You came home, slept four hours, woke up to an alarm, and now you are looking at the debt total before the next watch. Thirty-five thousand on a base salary that runs $58k-$72k depending on jurisdiction, plus whatever overtime the city budget allows that quarter.

Snowball is the right method for the job's reality. Police work is high-decision-density labor — you spend twelve hours making rapid judgment calls and processing other people's worst days. Coming home to a debt plan that requires complex interest-rate optimization is asking for one more cognitive load on a brain that is already at capacity. Snowball gives you the simplest possible rule: smallest balance first, freed minimum cascades. The math costs $400-800 over Avalanche; the simplicity is worth it.

On $35,000 at a blended 11% (typical mix: $20k auto loan at 8%, $10k credit card at 22%, $5k personal loan at 13%), paying $640/month minimum finishes in 78 months and costs $13,800 in interest. Adding $200/month extra cuts that to 56 months and $9,200 interest. With Snowball, the personal loan closes around month 14, the credit card around month 32 — two cleared accounts before the halfway point.

Note: as a government employee you are likely PSLF-eligible. Do not enter your federal loans below — enter only your credit cards and other non-federal debt. See studentaid.gov/PSLF.

Pre-loaded with a typical officer mix: auto loan, credit card, personal loan. Your numbers stay on your device — no bank login, no department integration. The math runs locally — see the methodology. Adjust the balances to match your real debts.

Want the full experience with animations, what-if sliders, and your shareable debt-free date card?