How a Debt Reduction Calculator Stopped Me From Living on Rice

Let’s be real—who doesn’t have debt these days? I honestly don’t know anyone who doesn’t have at least a little lurking on a credit card somewhere. Most people I know, including myself, have multiple credit cards, loans, and other “oh no” debts.

Remember that first month postpartum? Yeah… I probably spent $1,000 on things for the baby, for us, and for starting to pay off medical bills. And by “probably spent,” I mean I swiped my card so fast my hand got a workout. There felt like no other choice besides swipe here, swipe there, maybe swipe some more for good measure.

Fast forward two years, and I realized: debt grows faster than my kid’s ability to escape any playpen. We weren’t budgeting correctly, and we were using credit cards like they were magical money wands. Mistakes were made. Regrets? A few. Lessons? Plenty.

Enter: the debt reduction calculator. This little gem lives in Google Sheets (though there’s an Excel version too) and is basically like having a financial therapist who never judges you for buying three packs of diapers at once.

Here’s how I used it: I plugged in all our debts—car, student loans, credit cards, personal loans—along with balances, interest rates, and monthly payments. Then, the calculator gave me an estimated payoff timeline using different strategies:

• Snowball Method: Pay off the smallest debts first. It’s like getting tiny victories to keep you motivated. Think of it as the toddler “I did it!” of debt repayment.

• Avalanche Method: Pay off the highest interest rate debts first. This saves the most money in the long run but can feel like watching paint dry compared to snowball wins.

Bonus: there’s a tab for extra money you might have coming in each month. This let me play around with what order worked best for us—both in terms of strategy and sanity.

During the first year of using this calculator, we paid off five debts. Five! We went the snowball route because I needed those early wins to stay sane (and to justify my Starbucks habit). Now we’re working on our mid-range debts—the ones that might take a bit longer but hey, progress is progress.

Using this calculator gave me something I hadn’t had in a while: peace of mind. It’s like seeing your chaos laid out in neat little boxes and thinking, “Okay, maybe I can adult after all.”

If your bills are giving you anxiety, your credit cards are laughing at you, or your kid just destroyed your last shred of motivation, try a debt reduction calculator. It’s oddly satisfying—and unlike me at the baby store, it won’t make you spend more money while you’re figuring it out.