The offer that lowers your payment raises what you pay

Three decisions where the arithmetic is genuinely hard and everyone offering to help you is paid by the answer: which debt to clear before a mortgage, which payoff route costs least once the fees are back in, and whether to pay cash for a car. Free, no email, nothing stored.

Debt payoff comparison — five routes, fees included Minimums, snowball, avalanche, a consolidation loan with its origination fee, and a balance transfer with its fee and cliff. Ranked by total cost, with the consolidation loan's term extension priced separately from its lower rate. Start here
Which debt to pay off to qualify for a mortgage Ranks every payoff by the cash it takes to remove one point of debt-to-income — including putting the money into the down payment instead, which is almost never the answer. Flags when a payoff drains your reserves. Calculator
Pay cash or finance a car? Your savings rate after tax decides it. Includes the full-coverage and gap insurance the lender forces on you, a breakeven APR, and a second mode for the rebate-versus-low-APR question at the desk. Calculator
What is my debt-to-income ratio? The quick version. Two numbers in large type, the ratio, and what the figure generally means — without the debt schedule. Simple version
Why consolidation lowers your payment and raises your cost The term extension nobody prices, the origination fee nobody defaults to, and how to read an offer letter. Guide
How lenders actually calculate DTI Which payments count, which are excluded, front-end against back-end, and why balances never appear in the ratio at all. Guide
All eight guides Minimum payments, reserves, snowball against avalanche, the balance transfer cliff, issuer hardship programmes, and the 1099-C on forgiven debt. Index

Why this site exists

Search for anything about paying off debt and the first page is consolidation lenders, debt settlement companies and comparison sites paid a commission when you apply. Their calculators are honest about arithmetic and silent about fees. A consolidation calculator that defaults the origination fee to zero is not broken — it is working exactly as intended.

We do not lend, refinance, settle, consolidate or sell your details to anyone who does. That is why the fees are in every figure, why the balance-transfer route shows what is left when the promotion ends, and why the consolidation loan is priced twice — once at the payment the offer wants you to make, and once at the payment you make today.

Everything runs in your browser. Every default is visible and editable, every method is published on the page it affects, and every limitation is listed next to the result instead of buried in a footer. If a figure here disagrees with your lender, your lender has your file and we do not. Use this to ask a better question.