A debt-payoff journal
Pay off debt. Keep your life.
Calm, step-by-step plans for paying down credit cards and loans on a regular paycheck. The math is always shown, and nobody gets judged.
Independent guides. General education, not financial advice.
Written by Claire Bennett
Math shownEvery example lists its rates and assumptions.
Dated and updatedEach guide shows when it was last checked.
No shame, no hypeNo get-out-of-debt-quick promises.
New here?
Start here in three steps
The order most people find easiest. Each step links to the guides that go with it.
- 01
Know your numbers
Write down every balance, rate and minimum. It is the least fun step and the one that makes everything else possible.
Budgets & trackers - 02
Pick your method
Snowball or avalanche? Run your own debts through both and see the months and interest side by side.
Open the calculator - 03
Stay with it
Most plans stall around month three. Small wins, a visible tracker and a little extra income keep it moving.
Find extra money
Our signature approach
The Oak & Cents payoff method
Four plain steps, the same ones every guide on this site builds on. Small, steady payments, like an acorn becoming an oak.
- 1
List every debt
Balance, interest rate and minimum payment for each one, in one place. No judging the numbers, just writing them down.
Get organized - 2
Choose your order
Snowball (smallest balance first) or avalanche (highest rate first). Run both in the calculator and pick the one you will stick with.
Compare methods - 3
Find the extra
A payoff plan runs on whatever you can add above the minimums, from a trimmed budget or a little side income.
Find extra money - 4
Track it where you can see it
Color in the tracker every time a balance drops. Visible progress is what keeps a plan going past month three.
Get the tracker
Free tools
Tools that do the math for you
Calculator
Snowball vs. avalanche calculator
Enter your debts once and see both plans side by side: debt-free date, total interest and the order each balance disappears.
Browse by topic
Find the guides for your situation
Debt Snowball, Avalanche & Payoff Plans
Pick a method, list your debts in order and follow a plan you can start tonight. Worked examples included.
Guides coming soon →Credit Card Debt Payoff
How interest really works, what the minimum payment costs you, and practical ways to bring balances down.
Guides coming soon →Debt-Free Budgeting, Printables & Trackers
Budgets, planners and trackers you can fill in by hand or in a spreadsheet, so progress is something you can see.
Guides coming soon →Paying Off Debt on a Low Income
Realistic ideas for stretching a tight budget, without shame and without pretending small paychecks are easy.
Guides coming soon →Side Income to Pay Off Debt
Honest ways to bring in extra money and point it straight at a balance, with realistic earnings ranges.
Guides coming soon →Debt payoff calculator
See when you could be debt-free with the snowball or the avalanche.
Open the tool →
About the author
Hi, I'm Claire Bennett
Claire Bennett (pen name) writes Oak & Cents: simple money systems ordinary households can actually follow, from debt payoff and paycheck planning to sinking funds and frugal living.
Oak & Cents exists to make debt payoff feel doable on a normal income: clear plans, honest numbers and encouragement without judgment.