DebtPayoffToolforSocialWorkers

The case closed Friday — or did not, because cases like that do not close, they pause until the next intake. You sat in the parking lot for ten minutes before driving home. Fifty-five thousand in MSW loans on a $52,000 child welfare salary is the math the program never quite explained at orientation: the field is essential, the field is paid like volunteer work, and the loans are not.

Snowball is the right method for social work because emotional labor takes the same cognitive load that interest-rate optimization requires. Coming home after a 9-hour day in trauma-adjacent work and trying to think about which loan has the highest APR is asking too much from a person who has spent the day holding other people's worst weeks. Snowball gives you the simplest rule: smallest balance first. The math costs $1,000-1,500 over Avalanche on $55k. The energy preservation is worth it.

On $55,000 at a blended 6.5% (typical mix: $35k Direct Unsubsidized at 6.5%, $15k Grad PLUS at 7.9%, $5k credit card at 22%), paying $640/month minimum finishes in 120 months and costs $20,500 in interest. Adding $150/month extra cuts that to 95 months and $15,800 interest. PSLF eligibility for non-profit social workers can forgive the remainder at year 10 — a separate calculation worth running.

Note: if you work at a nonprofit organization or government agency you may be 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 social worker portfolio. Your numbers stay on your device — no bank login, no agency integration. The math runs locally — see the methodology. PSLF is calculated separately at StudentAid.gov.

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