How to use the chart
- Type in what you are paying off and how much you owe, then pick the number of shapes. The line under the preview shows what each shape is worth.
- Download the PDF and print it at 100 % or actual size. Put the chart where you see it often, such as the fridge or the inside of a closet door.
- Each time a payment goes out, color in shapes worth that amount and write the date, the payment and the balance on your statement in the payment log.
- Shade the Paid off bar up to the total you have paid. The marks at 25, 50 and 75 % show the amount for each quarter of the way.
Work from the top left, row by row, so the colored part grows like a bar. When a payment does not match a whole shape, carry the rest over to the next payment, or shade a shape halfway. The last shape on the chart is the day the debt is gone.
Filling in the debt list
The second page lists every debt in one table. Take your latest statements and copy, for each debt, the creditor, the current balance, the interest rate and the minimum payment, plus the day of the month the payment is due. A credit card can carry more than one rate: the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau explains that issuers often charge different APRs for purchases, cash advances and other transactions, and that your statement must show each category with a different APR. Write the rate that applies to most of the balance and note the others.
The Order column is for the sequence in which you plan to pay the debts off. Make the minimum payment on every debt, put any extra money toward the debt marked 1, and once it is gone, tick Done, write the date in Paid off on and move the extra money to number 2. The boxes at the top hold the totals, the extra amount you can pay each month and the date you aim for. Once a month, note in the check-in table what went out and what is left across all debts, so you can see the total fall from one month to the next.
Choosing a payoff order
Two orders are common. Paying the smallest balance first gives you a finished debt early, which some people find keeps them going. Paying the highest interest rate first costs the same or less in interest. The debt snowball planner compares both orders with your own numbers and shows a debt-free date for each, so you can fill in the Order column with a plan behind it. For a single card, the credit card payoff calculator shows how long a payment takes to clear the balance and what it costs in interest.
Using the spreadsheet
The Excel file has two sheets. On Debts, type each creditor with the starting balance, the rate, the minimum payment and the due day. On Payments, add a row for each payment with the date, the creditor (spelled exactly as on the Debts sheet) and the amount. When a statement shows interest or fees, add them in the Interest and fees column of a row for that creditor.
Balance after shows what is left of that one debt after each row. On the Debts sheet, Paid so far, Interest and fees and Balance left add up the payment log by creditor, Status switches from Open to Paid off once a balance reaches zero, and the summary shows the total left, the share of the starting balance that is gone and a bar of 20 blocks. With one debt or none typed above, the first row starts with the amount you entered. All totals are formulas, so a file preview that does not calculate may show them as zero or blank until the file is opened in a spreadsheet program.
Related tools and templates
The loan calculator works out the payment and total interest of a fixed-rate loan, and the debt-to-income ratio calculator shows how your monthly debt payments compare with your income. To keep track of every due date, the bill tracker lists bills with a box to tick when each one is paid. Once the last shape is colored in, the savings tracker works the same way for a savings goal.
Frequently asked questions
Is the debt payoff tracker free?
Yes. Make as many charts as you like, one for each debt or one for all of them together. You do not sign up or leave an email address, and the only branding is a small line with our web address at the bottom of each page.
What about interest?
The chart splits the balance you start with, so it shows how much you have paid against that amount, not your exact balance on a given day. If your debt charges interest, part of each payment goes to it. Write the balance from your latest statement in the Left column of the payment log. The spreadsheet has a column for interest and fees, so its Balance left follows your statements.
What if my debt does not split evenly?
Then the last shape takes the remainder. A debt of 1,234 in 100 shapes, for example, becomes 100 shapes of 12.34, and a debt of 999 in 200 shapes becomes 199 shapes of 4.99 and one of 5.99. The line under the title spells out the split, and the amounts on the chart always add up to your total exactly.
Should I make one chart per debt or one for all of them?
Both work. One chart for the total keeps everything on a single page and shows the whole way to zero. A chart per debt gives you a finish line sooner, which suits the smallest balance or the one you pay off first. The debt list page keeps all debts in view either way.
Why are some characters missing from my names in the PDF?
The PDF uses a basic font that covers English and most Western European letters, but no emoji and no other scripts such as Greek, Cyrillic or Chinese. Those characters are left out, a few rare accented letters print without the accent, and a note under the field tells you when that happens. The spreadsheet keeps your names exactly as typed.
Which currencies can I use?
Any of the 20 currencies in the list. The chart shows the one you pick in the total and at the progress marks, and the spreadsheet formats every amount in it. For a currency that the chart shows without cents, such as the yen, every shape is a whole amount.