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Loan & Debt Calculators

32 tools covering every stage of borrowing and paying back.

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Debt questions come in three shapes: what will this cost me, how fast can I clear it, and should I restructure it. The groups below follow that split, then break down by debt type, because the maths differs more than people expect — credit cards compound daily, student loans have their own repayment plans, and HELOCs have two distinct phases with very different payments.

If you're carrying several balances at once, start with the debt payoff optimizer rather than working on any single loan. The order you pay debts in usually matters more than any individual payment amount.

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Multiple debts at once

When you have several balances, sequencing beats optimising any one of them. The optimizer compares avalanche (highest rate first, cheapest overall) against snowball (smallest balance first, better for motivation).

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Credit cards

Credit card interest compounds daily, which is why a balance held at the minimum payment behaves so differently from an instalment loan.

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Student loans

Consolidation uses a weighted average rate rather than shopping for a better one — worth modelling before you commit, since it can extend your term without lowering your rate.

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Auto loans

Sales tax, trade-in value, and down payment all change the financed amount, which is why quoted monthly payments often differ from what you calculate on the sticker price alone.

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Home equity lines (HELOC)

A HELOC has a draw period where you may pay interest only, then a repayment period where principal kicks in. That transition is the payment shock most borrowers don't plan for.

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General loans and payoff

For personal loans, 401(k) loans, and anything else with a fixed term. Extra payments applied to principal shorten the term rather than reducing the monthly amount.

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Compare and restructure

Before consolidating or refinancing, check whether the new rate beats your blended current rate once fees and any extended term are included.

Common questions

Short answers to what people ask most before picking a tool.

Should I pay off the highest interest rate or the smallest balance first?
Highest rate first (the avalanche method) always costs less in total interest — that's arithmetic, not opinion. Smallest balance first (snowball) clears individual debts sooner, which some people find easier to sustain. The debt payoff optimizer shows both totals side by side so you can see what the motivational approach actually costs you.
Why does my credit card balance grow faster than the APR suggests?
Most cards compound interest daily rather than monthly. A 24% APR compounded daily produces an effective annual rate closer to 27%. The credit card interest calculator models daily compounding directly rather than dividing the APR by twelve.
Does consolidating debt actually save money?
Only if the new rate is genuinely lower than the weighted average of what you're paying now, and the term isn't stretched so far that a lower monthly payment costs more in total interest. Consolidation frequently reduces the monthly payment while increasing lifetime cost. The consolidation calculator shows both figures.
What DTI ratio do lenders want to see?
Conventional mortgages typically want back-end DTI at or below 43%, though some programmes allow more with compensating factors. FHA is often more permissive and VA uses residual income alongside DTI. The DTI calculator shows front-end and back-end ratios against each programme's limits.

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