Debt Payoff Calculator
See how much faster an extra amount each week clears your balance, and what it saves in interest.
How to pay your debt off faster
Three ways to send more principal. They stack, and each one updates the numbers on the right.
Paying half the monthly amount every two weeks makes 13 payments a year instead of 12. Tick this to set your own amount.
A refund or bonus put straight at the balance, once a year.
About $108 a month, because a year holds 52 weeks rather than 48. This is the number Pace frees up: what is left after bills, as one weekly figure.
Finding the extra is the hard part, not the arithmetic. Pace counts your bills first and shows what is genuinely free to spend this week, so the money you put at this balance is money you already knew you could spare.
Find your weekly numberEstimates are educational. They assume a fixed rate and a fixed payment, and they exclude fees. Pace is budgeting software, not a financial advisor.
How paying extra actually works
Every payment splits two ways: interest first, then whatever is left reduces the balance. Because interest is charged on the balance, anything extra you pay shrinks the amount future interest is calculated on. The effect compounds in your favour, which is why a small weekly amount moves the payoff date more than people expect.
The order matters more than the amount when you hold several balances. Paying the highest rate first (the avalanche) costs the least in total interest. Paying the smallest balance first (the snowball) closes an account sooner and is easier to keep doing. Both beat spreading the extra evenly.
The hard part is never the arithmetic on this page. It is knowing how much you can send without breaking next week. That is the number Pace exists to give you.
Frequently asked questions
- Does paying extra on a loan reduce the term or the payment?
- On most fixed-rate loans an extra payment reduces the term, not the required monthly payment. You keep paying the same amount each month and simply finish earlier. Some lenders will re-amortise on request, which lowers the payment instead. Ask before you send a large extra payment if the lower payment is what you wanted.
- Should I pay off debt or build savings first?
- A small cash buffer first, then the debt. Without any buffer the next unexpected bill goes back on the balance you just paid down, which undoes the progress and the motivation with it.
- Is it better to pay weekly or monthly?
- The total is what matters, not the frequency, though paying more often shaves a little interest on loans that accrue daily. Weekly is mostly a behavioural win: it matches how income and spending actually arrive.
- How do I pay off debt faster?
- Send more principal, and send it consistently. Three ways need no extra income beyond what you already free up: pay every two weeks instead of monthly, make one extra payment a year from a refund or bonus, or add a fixed amount each week. All three are in the calculator above. With several balances, aim the extra at the highest rate rather than spreading it evenly.
- Do biweekly payments really pay off debt faster?
- Yes, for an unremarkable reason. Paying half the monthly amount every two weeks produces 26 half-payments a year, which is 13 monthly payments instead of 12. That extra payment is what shortens the loan. You can get the same result with one extra payment a year without changing your schedule.
More calculators
See the full set on the calculators page.