• checked the mixed debt total again still overwhelming no clear strategy
  • paid across the mixed debt but nothing really moved
  • none of my friends know how tangled this mixed debt feels
  • i just need a date when this mixed debt will be gone

DebtPayoffStrategyforMixedDebt

Compare the methods on your real numbers — without connecting your bank.

Mixed debt is the actual condition most households are in. Not one card, not one loan — a portfolio: a 22% Visa, a 14% personal loan, a 7% car note, a 6% student loan, a 0% medical bill on a payment plan. Every advice column treats debt as if it were one thing. Your debt is six things with six different rates and six different account systems and six different due dates that arrive on different days of the month.

Avalanche is the right method for mixed debt because the rate spread is the entire point. With wide variation across rate categories, sending extra payments to the highest-APR balance kills more total interest than splitting evenly or going by balance size. Snowball would close small balances first regardless of rate; on $45,000 of mixed debt at an 18% blended rate, that misallocation costs $1,800-3,000 over the full payoff.

On $45,000 mixed debt (typical: $15k card at 22%, $12k personal loan at 14%, $10k student loan at 6.5%, $8k auto loan at 7%), paying $885/month minimum finishes in 70 months and costs $17,200 in interest. Adding $300/month extra cuts that to 51 months and $11,800 interest. The card closes around month 27, freeing $375/month into the cascade.

Pre-loaded with a typical 4-debt mixed portfolio. Your numbers stay on your device — no bank login. The math runs locally — see the methodology. Adjust each balance and rate to match your actual statements.

Your numbers

Pre-loaded with a typical general debt profile

Update with your actual numbers after you unlock the full calculator.

Nickname
Balance
Rate
Min payment
Credit Card$15,00022%$375
Personal Loan$12,00014%$279
Student Loan$10,0006.5%$114
Auto Loan$8,0007%$158

Recommended: Avalanche for this debt profile.

Estimated freedom date

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Method-specific questions

Common questions

  • Avalanche, applied to the full portfolio. Send every dollar above minimum to whichever debt has the highest APR. Once that debt is zero, redirect its minimum payment plus the extra to the next-highest rate. The cascade compounds — by the time the second debt closes, you are funding the third payoff with two freed minimums plus the original extra.

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