Where to start

Getting out of debt

Credit cards, student loans, or other balances.

Here's where to start — a calculator to run the numbers, a plain-English guide, and a short lesson with a first move. Which lesson fits depends on where you are.

Tool Debt payoff planner

Add your balances and a strategy; see your debt-free date and total interest.

Open the tool Guide Guide to Debt Payoff

Build a payoff plan you'll actually finish — the three tiers of debt, the avalanche vs snowball math, and how to weigh debt against the employer match.

Read the guide For starting out A friend bought a car at 18% for 72 months.

Carry the math, the 20/3/8 verdict, three doors still open, the repossession cliff, and three sentences to open the conversation.

Take the lesson A few years in / Building for others I have $8K in credit-card debt and a car payment.

Carry the personal sequence (match → high-interest debt → emergency fund) with target months at three contribution paces.

Take the lesson