PayOff18000inDebtwith500ExtraaMonth

Five hundred dollars a month is real money. It is the second-job paycheck, the side hustle take-home, the gift from a parent who finally noticed. You are putting it on the debt every month and the debt is moving — but slower than it should be, because nobody told you which balance to point it at. The $500 is doing work; it is just not doing the most work.

Avalanche is the right method when you have a real $500/month extra to deploy. Snowball would put it on the smallest balance regardless of rate; on $18,000 of mixed debt that wastes the lever. Avalanche puts every dollar of the $500 against the highest-APR balance until that balance is zero, then cascades to the next-highest. The interest math is unforgiving in your favor.

On $18,000 at a blended 18%, paying $410/month minimum finishes in 67 months and costs about $9,400 in interest. Adding $500/month extra ($910 total) finishes in 23 months and costs $3,400 in interest — almost four years of life back, $6,000 not paid to lenders.

Pre-loaded with a typical $18k mix: $10k credit card, $5k personal loan, $3k store card. Your numbers stay on your device — no bank login. The math runs locally — see the methodology. Adjust the rates and balances to match your actual statements.

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