With no extra payment, both strategies take 34 months here. That is a result of these balances and payments, not proof that repayment order never matters.
Start with three separate obligations
Our fictional borrower owes MYR5,000 on Card at 18% nominal APR with a fixed MYR250 minimum, MYR15,000 on Personal at 8% with a MYR400 minimum, and MYR2,000 on Small at 0% with a MYR100 minimum. Total opening debt is MYR22,000. The monthly repayment budget is MYR750, with no new borrowing or month-one lump sum.
Those are deliberately simplified inputs, not advertised products. Before using personal figures, collect the current balance, applicable interest convention and payment obligation for each account. A name such as Personal does not establish that a real loan uses reducing-balance APR.
Define the order without missing minimums
Avalanche directs spare money to the highest APR after the capped minimums are paid. Snowball directs that spare money to the smallest remaining balance. Both keep the original monthly budget available when a debt disappears. The CFPB describes these as two debt reduction approaches; the numerical schedule below is our own exercise.
At the start, there is no spare money: all MYR750 is committed to the fixed minimums. Choosing a priority does not authorise skipping the other required payments. A real overdue account, secured obligation or penalty could require attention that this interest-only ranking does not capture.
Background source: CFPB: repayment strategies (US background only)
Reconcile the first month before reading the finish date
The model charges interest on each opening balance at APR divided by twelve, rounded to cents, then makes payments. Card incurs MYR75 and Personal MYR100; Small incurs zero. After payments of MYR250, MYR400 and MYR100, their balances are MYR4,825, MYR14,700 and MYR1,900. Total closing debt is MYR21,425.
That first row explains why paying MYR750 reduces debt by only MYR575. Interest used the remaining MYR175. Reconcile opening debt plus interest minus payments to closing debt. A finish date without a schedule can hide a wrong rate convention or a payment counted twice.
| Scenario | Payoff time | Total modeled interest |
|---|---|---|
| No extra: avalanche | 34 months | MYR3,038.87 |
| No extra: snowball | 34 months | MYR3,038.87 |
| First-month interest | Before payments | MYR175.00 |
Understand why these two paths coincide
Both strategies finish in 34 months and charge MYR3,038.87 total interest. Total payments are MYR25,038.87: the original MYR22,000 plus interest. In this particular no-extra case, the minimum-only phase leaves no allocation choice, and the later released payments go to the same remaining priority.
Do not generalise that equality. Adding spare cash creates an earlier choice between the small zero-rate balance and the expensive card. The companion MYR200 lesson changes only that input and produces different interest totals. A comparison is meaningful only when the debts, budget, timing and rounding convention are held consistent.
Check whether your contracts fit the model
The planner assumes fixed APRs, fixed minimum amounts, no fees and a constant budget with rollover. Actual credit cards may accrue interest daily and calculate changing minimums. A flat-rate car loan is not supported by entering its headline flat rate as APR. Settlement charges or a promotional rate ending also change the comparison.
Inspect any warning about a minimum below interest or a balance remaining at the 720-month limit. A long schedule is not permission to ignore lender notices. If a real obligation cannot be met, first establish what is contractually due rather than treating the cheapest modeled order as a complete repayment agreement.
Load the example and make one controlled change
Open the debt payoff planner and inspect the three rows, zero extra payment and zero lump sum. Recalculate, compare both strategies and inspect the first schedule row. Then create a separate scenario with an affordable extra amount while retaining the baseline. Do not lower the budget automatically after one debt closes.
Before acting, reconcile the next statement with the modeled opening balance and interest. Record why any difference exists. The useful output is a repayment commitment you can fund and check each month, alongside a clear list of contractual features the model leaves out.
The JSON download is a fictional example book for this tool only. Before importing, export a backup of your existing local book. Read the import preview, check the tool and entries, and confirm only if you intend to replace the current book; importing is not a merge. Keep your backup separately. The companion CSV is a manual comparison worksheet, not an import file. Downloads do not connect to your accounts or sync devices.
Download the example book and manual comparison
Put it into practice
Reproduce the baseline before changing the monthly budget.
Open the decision tool