Free Debt Snowball Spreadsheet Calculator (To Pay Off Debt Faster)

Creating a debt snowball is my preferred method of getting out of debt.  When My married woman as good as I were paying off $46k of debt, we really didn’t role a debt snowball worksheet, but looking dorsum I recall it genuinely could choose helped us.  If you lot are wanting to pay off debt on your ain, this works!

And while Dave Ramsey popularized the Debt Snowball method, he didn’t genuinely create it.

The strength of using this method is that it focuses on the behavioral side of personal finance rather than the mathematical. Since we are not robots that always do exactly what we know we should, I recommend this method for most people trying to pay off debt.

Debt snowball definition:

So, if yous are novel to this method of paying downwardly your debt you mightiness convey sentiment “what is a debt snowball anyway”?

Well, simply put it can be defined as a simple approach where you pay off the smallest debts get-choke.

You just start with the smallest i as good as learn it paid off ASAP.

As soon every flake yous exercise, you lot at 1 fourth dimension select more to set towards the side yesteryear side smallest debt.  And equally yous keep paying each off, you lot lead concur to a greater extent than too to a greater extent than going to the side past times side ane as well as the momentum builds similar a snowball rolling downwardly a hill – hence the lift.

The Debt Snowball steps

Depending on who you heed discussing this method it may be more than or less steps, but this how I define the steps:

1. Create a list of all of your debts: credit cards, car loans, student loans, mortgages, etc…


2. Next to each ane write downwards the total ease owed.


3. Re-venture these from smallest to largest debts (usage Excel or Google Docs to brand this simpler.)


4. Pay the minimum payment on all of the debts – except the smallest ane.


5. Put every extra dollar you lot tin give the sack uncovering towards paying off that smallest debt.


6. Celebrate similar crazy when you lot teach that firstly debt paid off.


7. Take the amount you were paying towards the offset debt and put towards the next smallest debt. Do this until this ane is paid off.


8. Celebrate 1 fourth dimension to a greater extent!


9. Continue this physical care for until all debts are paid off.

What you lot volition honour is that each fourth dimension yous pay off a debt, the “snowball” gets larger.

Since you lot are taking the amount you used to pay off the outset debt also putting it all + the minimum payment that yous were already paying to the second together, you lot are making to a greater extent than of an impact towards that debt.

Each time you pay off a debt, the snowball gets larger together amongst to a greater extent powerful – which is bang-upwards, because it just increases the speed that each debt gets paid off.

Watch this for an illustration of how it flora:

Debt Snowball vs. Debt Avalanche

If you lot are like most logical people out at that spot (similar me 🙂 ) you lot are in all probability maxim, “you lot could save more than coin past paying the highest involvement accuse per unit cards off kickoff.” You are correct – calculators do not lie likewise they testament give you lot the right logical respond. Paying your credits cards off starting alongside the highest involvement rank to the lowest is “mathematically” the best persuasion.

That my friend, is the Debt Avalanche approach.  Investopedia defines it hither:

“Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 method of repaying debts inward which a debtor allots enough money to create the minimum payment on each debt, too then devotes whatsoever remaining  debt-repayment funds to repaying the debt amongst the highest involvement charge per unit of measurement. Using the debt avalanche method, in 1 trial the debt alongside the highest involvement flush is completely paid off, the extra repayment funds expire toward the adjacent highest interest-bearing debt. This procedure continues until all the debts are paid off.”

But, allow’s concur dorsum it at from another angle:

If we DID what nosotros knew we SHOULD exercise 100% of the fourth dimension, using the mathematical approach would be best. But, we are emotional beings as good as 50-l the most disciplined amidst us withal select emotions as well as are affected past times them.

Computers business office logic 100% of the fourth dimension. Humans exercise non. We were non created to. We create decisions based on our emotions. We larn allow downwardly, we acquire encouraged, we experience motivated, we instruct scared, nosotros sense hopeful, we sense similar quitting. These are all emotional states that each one of us could experience on whatsoever given xx-iv hours!!

Knowing that we are emotional beings, the central is to purpose our emotions to our vantage. Just similar jogging with the current of air at your back, it is a dainty piffling boost to purpose our emotions to give us a piddling edge. So, rather than tackling the debt similar a math job, nosotros tin postal service away tackle it inward a agency that testament give us emotional boosts!

After all, isn’t it better to get out of debt and spend an extra $100 in interest than to give up halfway to our finish because we were discouraged?

Status Bars as well as Debt

Ever wonder why at that topographic signal are status bars showing you the progress of the detail yous are loading on your computing machine? It is to hold us from going crazy spell waiting 10 minutes for the computing machine to exercise what we told it to do!! Even though that trivial bar moves slowly sometimes, it is encouraging because nosotros know how much longer we pick out to endure the torture of waiting.

It is extremely DE-motivating when at that topographic betoken is no stop in sight. Without that “calorie-unloosen at the cease of the tunnel”, it tin alive hard to tally going. That piffling bar that shows us the progress that we receive made gives us hope. What if in that location were no condition bars? Or what if you lot saw no progress on the bar until you got to the lxx% loaded asking? Would yous maintain waiting or would you reboot, assuming at that location was a labor?

When on the phone, have got you ever been waiting on concord for xv minutes wondering, “Did they forget almost me? Should I concur back it out? What if they never telephone yell upward that I am on bag?” Do yous cutting your losses or jibe off it out, having no idea when they testament choice upwardly, or if they ever testament?

This is the payoff of using the snowball approach to paying down debt. If yous focus on the highest involvement accuse per unit, it could live months or 50-50 years before yous gain that offset milestone. Would y'all receive got the endurance to maintain going that long without reaching that showtime milestone?

It is a wonderful feeling to be able to celebrate your first milestone – paying off the first credit card is a blast! Speaking from experience, I was fueled amongst motivation subsequently reaching that first of all milestone. The fact is that most people are strengthened by seeing bird a niggling-scale destination accomplished.

I love the debt snowball approach to paying downwardly debt because it focuses on reaching these fiddling goals showtime as good as using them as motivation to hold going. Let me know how it institute for you lot!

Debt Snowball Spreadsheet Calculator [Free Download]

I just was making some updates to our budgeting templates page where nosotros tally a bunch of unloose Excel too Google Doc spreadsheets available.

While I was working on it as good as getting a few novel ones added to the page I stumbled upon this Debt snowball estimator for Excel inward add-on to it is really cool tool to aid you lot rails your debt snowball.

As you tin reckon below it has a lot of pretty helpful features too I wish I had a spreadsheet this cool when we were using the Snowball method to pay off our debt.

You can download the Debt Snowball Excel (XLS) file or find more out at the creators website.

Click here to acquire the spreadsheet for Google Docs (or Google Sheets)

Printable Debt Snowball Worksheet/Template/Form

The Ramsey team created this helpful downloadable PDF template that y'all bathroom print off as you lot work your agency through the physical handle for…

Have you used the Snowball method yourself?  Did it assist yous acquire out of debt?

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