Carrying debt is expensive in two ways: the interest itself, and the time it takes to pay it off. Most "debt payoff calculators" on the web only show you one of those numbers — they tell you how long you'll be in debt, or how much interest you'll pay, but rarely both, and almost never let you compare the two competing methods side by side.
A good debt payoff spreadsheet does both, and does it offline in a file you actually own. No bank login, no subscription, no app that will shut down in five years. Just a sheet you open, fill in your balances, and watch the math do its job.
Below is what to look for in a debt payoff template, how the snowball and avalanche methods actually differ, and which OwnYourMoney spreadsheet fits each situation — including the natural next step once the last balance hits zero.
Snowball vs. avalanche, in one paragraph: The debt snowball method pays off your smallest balance first while making minimum payments on everything else. You get quick wins, momentum stays high, and the psychological boost carries you through the slower middle of the plan. The debt avalanche method pays off the highest-interest balance first, which costs less in total interest but usually takes longer to deliver visible progress. Most spreadsheets let you run both scenarios side by side so you can pick the trade-off you'd rather live with.
| Template | Best For | Price | Debt Payoff Feature | Detail Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debt Payoff Tracker | Snowball / avalanche planning | $17 | Side-by-side snowball vs. avalanche calculator with 60-month payoff projection and total interest saved | View template |
| Monthly Budget + Net Worth | Debt payments inside a monthly budget | $27 | Dedicated debt-payment category with minimum-plus-extra tracking so each month's payment is enforced | View template |
| Net Worth Tracker | The natural next step after you're debt-free | $22 | 12-month assets-vs-liabilities columns that turn the "post-debt" chapter into a measurable wealth-building plan | View template |
| Cash Flow Tracker | Variable-income debt payments | $27 | Running cash position so freelancers and commission earners can keep debt payments on schedule across uneven pay periods | View template |
1. Debt Payoff Tracker
The core template for this whole guide. You enter every balance, the interest rate, and the minimum payment — credit cards, student loans, car payments, personal loans, medical debt, the works. The sheet runs the snowball and avalanche calculations in parallel and shows you which one pays off your debt first and how much total interest each method will cost.
The 60-month month-by-month projection is the feature most people buy it for: you can see exactly which balance disappears in month 1, month 4, month 11, and so on, under each method — no spreadsheet-building required. Works in both Excel and Google Sheets without modification. See the Debt Payoff Tracker →
2. Monthly Budget + Net Worth Tracker
You can't pay off debt in a vacuum — the monthly payment has to come from somewhere, and "leftover cash" is not a strategy. The flagship Monthly Budget sheet gives you a dedicated debt-payment category, tracks budgeted vs. actual vs. extra each month, and rolls everything into the net worth view so you can see your balances dropping as your net worth climbs in the same file.
If you want a single workbook that handles both the debt-elimination plan and the monthly cash to fund it, this is the one. See the Monthly Budget + Net Worth template →
3. Net Worth Tracker
The post-debt next step. The moment your last balance hits zero, the question stops being "how do I get out of debt?" and starts being "how do I build wealth?" The Net Worth Tracker is built for exactly that handoff: 12 months of assets vs. liabilities on one screen, with auto-calculated totals so you can watch the wealth chapter start without re-engineering your spreadsheet.
Most people who finish a payoff plan keep using the Net Worth Tracker the same way they used the Debt Payoff Tracker — same monthly habit, same sheet, just the sign of the number flipped. See the Net Worth Tracker →
4. Cash Flow Tracker
The Debt Payoff Tracker assumes your income arrives on a regular schedule and you can match every payment to a date. If that's not your life — if you're freelance, contract, or commission-based — the Cash Flow Tracker is the supporting template. The running cash position column shows your liquidity day by day so the debt payment never collides with an empty-pay-week.
Pair it with the Debt Payoff Tracker and you have a payoff plan that survives uneven income. See the Cash Flow Tracker →
How to pick a debt payoff spreadsheet (and use it)
Start by listing every balance and interest rate in one place. If you can't do that on the back of an envelope without losing something, you need the Debt Payoff Tracker as the home for that data. Run the snowball and avalanche calculations — pick the method whose trade-off you'd rather live with. Avalanche is mathematically cheapest, snowball is psychologically easier, and there is no "right" answer for the whole population.
What to do once the balances hit zero
The moment the last payment clears, the real work begins. Cash flow that used to service debt now needs to fund wealth, and the spreadsheet that used to track balances dropping needs to flip to tracking balances growing. That's the Net Worth Tracker's entire reason for existing — a 12-month assets-vs-liabilities view that makes the post-debt chapter as measurable as the debt-elimination chapter was.
For the broader spreadsheet landscape — including the Monthly Budget every debt payoff plan needs to fund itself, the Annual Budget Planner for year-at-a-glance view, and the rest of the catalog — see the best budget spreadsheets comparison. For pricing and bundles, the pricing page lists every OwnYourMoney template with what it costs and what's included.