FunanceBoth strategies, side by side
Avalanche and snowball computed on the same debts and the same monthly amount, so the comparison is like for like rather than theoretical.
Debt strategy for Australian householdsPay them off in the order that costs least.
Two households with identical debts and identical budgets can finish years apart, purely on payoff order. Funance shows both strategies side by side with your numbers, then gives you a date.
Free forever · no card required · no bank login · runs in your browser
Avalanche pays the highest interest rate first and costs the least. Snowball pays the smallest balance first and gets you a win sooner. Which one is right depends on whether your problem is arithmetic or momentum, and most advice picks a side without showing you the difference.
Funance runs both on your actual debts and shows the gap in dollars and months. Sometimes it is large enough to settle the argument. Sometimes it is small enough that you should just pick the one you will stick to.
Either way you get a debt-free date instead of a feeling.
| Strategy | Outcome |
|---|---|
| Avalanche, highest rate first | Clears the 21.9% card first |
| Snowball, smallest balance first | Clears the $4,000 card first |
| Difference in total interest | Avalanche costs less |
| Difference in time to debt-free | Usually a matter of months |
| What Funance gives you | Both timelines, on your real numbers |
Illustrative: $9,000 card at 21.9%, $4,000 card at 18.9%, $18,000 car loan at 8.4%, $600 a month available.
What it models
What the tool actually does
A real debt-free date
Not a vague horizon. A month and a year, recalculated whenever your balances or your available repayment change.
Extra repayment forecasting
See what an extra $50, $100 or $500 a month does to the date and the total interest before you commit to it.
Mortgage offset alongside consumer debt
Household debt is rarely just credit cards. Offset modelling sits next to the consumer debts so the whole picture is in one place.
What you need to enter
- Each debt's balance
- Its interest rate
- The minimum repayment
- What you can put towards debt each month
Questions
The things everyone asks
Which is better, avalanche or snowball?
Avalanche always costs less interest because it targets the highest rate first. Snowball clears individual debts sooner, which some people find easier to sustain. Funance shows both on your numbers so you can see whether the difference is large enough to matter for you.
Does it handle HECS-HELP?
HECS is handled separately from consumer debt, because repayments are income-driven through the tax system rather than a balance you can simply pay down faster on the same terms.
Is the debt calculator free?
Yes. The Debts tab is included on the free plan, with no card required.
Related
Other things you can work out here
Mortgage scenario calculator
A repayment calculator tells you what you owe today. A scenario engine tells you what happens if the RBA moves, if you put an extra $200 a month in, or if you refinance. Those are the questions that actually change decisions.
Mortgage rate rise calculator →Credit card annual fee calculator
Premium cards are sold on the perks and paid for on the fee. The honest test is whether the value you personally extract exceeds what you hand over each year, and most people have never run it.
Credit card annual fee calculator →Budget planner Australia
Most budgets fail in week three, when the car registration arrives and the plan quietly stops matching reality. Funance budgets on planned versus actual, so the gap is visible instead of fatal.
Budget planner for Australians →Know where your money goes.
Know where you're going.
Set up your household in about ten minutes. No bank login, no card, no commitment.
Free forever · no card required · no bank login · runs in your browser