How every number is calculated

For most debts, monthly interest = balance × (annual rate ÷ 12), rounded to the cent the way statements round. For products that accrue daily (payday loans, some lines of credit) you can switch a debt to daily accrual: balance × (annual rate ÷ 365) × days in that month.

Promotional rates apply until their end month, then the regular rate takes over — your plan shows that jump ahead of time. Variable rates are modelled at today's value; if your lender changes the rate, update it and the plan recalculates.

We model planning-level accuracy, not statement-perfect reproduction: the schedule works in whole months and doesn't simulate your exact statement cycle days, average daily balances, or fees. We measured the difference so you don't have to guess: for a $5,000 card at 19.99% paid $500 on the 15th of each month, our model projects $514.92 of lifetime interest versus $467.50 from a day-by-day statement simulation — about $4/month higher, with the payoff date within one month. The error is deliberately on the conservative side: your real statements should come in at or below the plan, never meaningfully above it. (This comparison runs in our automated test suite, so the claim stays honest as the engine evolves.)

Every method pays every minimum, every month, before any extra dollar is allocated. For credit cards you can optionally set the issuer rule (a percentage of the balance with a floor), and the minimum re-computes monthly as the balance falls.

If a minimum doesn't even cover the monthly interest, that's the minimum-payment trap — the balance grows even while you pay. We flag it clearly, because extra payments are the only way out.

Debt Snowball — extra money goes to the smallest balance first. Mathematically it can cost slightly more, but closed accounts come faster, and finished debts free up their payments for the rest.

Debt Avalanche — extra money goes to the highest effective interest rate first. This is the cheapest simple strategy.

Smart Priority Plan (free account) — each month, every debt gets a priority score: its interest rate, plus boosts for past-due or collections status, payday loans, promotional rates about to expire (weighted by how big the jump is and how soon), credit cards near their limit, and debts small enough to close within about two months. If you have no cash cushion, part of your extra payment builds a buffer first — a plan that survives one surprise beats a plan that doesn't.

Adaptive Flex Plan (free account) — the Smart Priority engine, re-run from reality: recorded payments, updated balances, missed months. Irregular income is budgeted conservatively (90% or 80% of what you stated). Every recalculation explains what changed and why.

When a debt is paid off, the payment you were making to it doesn't go back into spending. It joins your extra payment and accelerates the next debt. This compounding of freed payments is why payoff speeds up toward the end.

Before showing a schedule we check: income − essentials − minimums − savings − spending. If your budget only covers minimums by squeezing flexible categories, we show exactly which ones and by how much. If essentials plus minimums exceed income, we do not print a fantasy schedule — we show a stabilization plan: protect essentials, call creditors before missing payments, talk to an accredited non-profit credit counsellor, and understand regulated options like consumer proposals. We never recommend new borrowing to cover a gap.

If you enter credit limits, we project your credit utilization month by month and mark when you cross the bands lenders commonly react to (90%, 80%, 50%, 30%). Canadian credit scores come from proprietary models that differ between Equifax, TransUnion, and individual lenders — so we show direction and ranges only when they're defensible, and we never promise a score change.

Statement-cycle day alignment, fees (annual, NSF, late), investment returns on your savings, and taxes. These are disclosed simplifications — they keep the plan understandable and the math verifiable.

The entire calculation engine runs in your browser. Until you create an account and save, your financial data never leaves your device — we couldn't look at it if we wanted to. Read the privacy policy.