Free printable debt payoff tracker

The two sheets

How to fill in the debt payoff sheet

1. List the debts. From your latest statements, write each debt's name, its balance, its APR (type 24 for 24%) and the monthly payment you actually make. Add up the balances and the payments in the Total row.
2. Add an extra amount. If you can put more than the payments toward debt each month, write it in the box. The payments plus the extra are the money you have for debt each month.
3. Choose the order. Tick one of the two rules on the sheet and write 1, 2, 3 … in the Order to pay column. The rules are below.
4. Pay every month. Every debt gets its monthly payment. The extra, and the payment of any debt you have already paid off, go to the debt numbered 1.
5. Log what is left. At the end of the month, write the balance of each debt in the payoff log, and the total. When a balance reaches zero, write the date on the list and cross the debt off; its payment now joins the extra.
6. Color a box. Write the starting total in the log first. Each time the total left falls by another tenth of it, color the next box.

A longer payoff than 24 months needs a second log: print another and write 25 to 48 over the printed month numbers.

How the order is chosen

Highest rate first (avalanche). Every debt gets its scheduled payment. The money left over — your extra amount, plus the payment of any debt that has been cleared — goes to the debt with the highest interest rate. When that debt is cleared, the one with the next-highest rate takes over. On a tie, the smaller balance goes first.

Smallest balance first (snowball). The same payments, but the money left over goes to the debt with the smallest balance, whatever its rate. When that debt is cleared, the one with the next-smallest balance takes over, and so on. On a tie, the higher APR goes first.

The snowball vs avalanche calculator runs both on your own debts and shows the months to debt-free and the interest paid for each; it does not pick one for you. The debt payoff calculator also writes out the schedule month by month.

A filled-in example

A store card of $900 at 12% with a payment of $45, a credit card of $4,200 at 24% with $120 and a car loan of $12,600 at 7.5% with $330, and $300 a month on top. The payments come to $495 a month and, with the extra, to $795 a month for debt. The list below is numbered highest rate first.

Highest rate first pays the Credit card first, then the Store card and the Car loan. Smallest balance first would number them the Store card, the Credit card and the Car loan. On these numbers both orders are debt-free in 25 months; highest rate first pays $1,871 in interest and smallest balance first $1,954. The first debt is cleared in month 12 by highest rate first and in month 3 by smallest balance first. Which of these matters more is your call.

Interest in these numbers is added once a month at the APR divided by twelve, so a lender's own schedule can differ from this one. Your log records what your lenders' statements say.

Questions

What is a debt payoff tracker?

A sheet where you write down your debts and, month by month, what is left on each, so you can watch the total fall. This one is two pages: a list of the debts with the order to pay them, and a log with a chart to color in.

Is the printable free?

The two PDFs are free to download and print, with no sign-up. They are sheets to write on by hand, not fillable forms.

How do I choose which debt to pay first?

Tick one of the two rules on the list: highest rate first, or smallest balance first. Both are written out above, and the snowball vs avalanche calculator shows what each gives for your debts.

What happens to a debt's payment once it is paid off?

It joins the extra and goes to the next debt in your order. That is how the payments roll from one debt to the next.

How many debts fit on the sheets?

Eight on the list and eight columns in the log. With more, print a second list, or use the debt payoff calculator. If you would rather have the months and the interest worked out in cells, there is a debt payoff spreadsheet with the same rules.

What if a balance is not going down?

The payment on that debt does not cover a month of its interest, so the balance grows. The calculators say so: "Not paid off: the payments do not cover the interest." That debt needs a larger payment before anything else moves.

Does it count fees or a changing rate?

No. The sheets only add up what you write. The numbers on this page count interest once a month at the APR divided by twelve, and leave out fees, a rate that changes and a lender's day-by-day interest.

A calculation from numbers you write down, not financial advice.

More calculators

• Debt payoff calculatorthree ways to pay, month by month
• Snowball vs avalanchemonths and interest for each
• Which debt first, or save first?the whole ladder for your numbers
• Debt payoff spreadsheetan .xlsx file with the formulas in it
• Emergency fund calculatorwhat 1, 3 and 6 months of spending come to

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