Debt tracker: list every debt, pick a payoff order and watch it shrink

The short answer: a debt tracker is one page or spreadsheet that lists every debt you owe, with its balance, interest rate, minimum payment and due date, updated each month as the balances fall.

• Setup takes about 20 minutes
• Gather every statement and list each debt
• Choose a payoff order: snowball or avalanche
• Update it once a month and watch for new charges
• Next step: Plan it with the Debt Payoff Planner ($6.99).

A debt tracker is one page or spreadsheet that lists every debt you owe, with its balance, interest rate, minimum payment and due date, and that you update each month as the balances fall. It shows exactly what you owe, which debt to pay first and how much progress you're making. Setting one up takes about 20 minutes: gather your statements, list each debt, choose a payoff order, then update it once a month.

Our Debt Payoff Planner is a spreadsheet debt tracker for up to 10 debts, with a snowball or avalanche switch and your debt-free date.

Here's what to track, a sample tracker, how to pick your payoff order and the debt trackers we make.

What to put on a debt tracker

Listing every debt is step one of our plan for how to get out of debt.

Student loans belong on the tracker too. Our guide on how to pay off student loans fast explains how to target the highest-rate loan first.

If a debt is in collections and you are not sure it is right, send a debt validation letter before adding it, so you track the verified amount.

How to set up your debt tracker in 5 steps

1. Gather every statement. Credit cards, car loan, student loans, personal loans, medical bills and buy now, pay later plans. Check your free credit reports at AnnualCreditReport.com for anything you missed.
2. List each debt with the columns above.
3. Total it. Add the balances and the minimum payments. The minimum total is the floor your budget has to cover.
4. Choose a payoff order. The CFPB's three steps to reduce your debt describe two methods: the highest interest rate method and the snowball method.
5. Decide your extra payment. Any amount above the minimums goes to the debt at the top of your list.

Snowball or avalanche: which order to use

The CFPB puts it simply: if you're motivated by saving the most money, the highest interest rate method may be right for you; if you're motivated by seeing progress quickly, consider the snowball method. Our guide to debt snowball vs. avalanche walks through the math.

The debt snowball is also baby step 2 of the Dave Ramsey baby steps.

Sample debt tracker (snowball order)

Example numbers. When the store card is paid off, its $235 rolls into the medical bill, then the Visa, then the car loan. That roll-over is what makes the snowball speed up. In avalanche order, the store card and the Visa would still go first because they have the highest rates, then the car loan, then the 0% medical bill.

Your monthly debt tracker routine

Every check-off moves you closer to being debt free. Our guide has a 7-step plan and a worked example comparing snowball and avalanche.

• After statements post, update each balance.
• Check off every payment and note the date.
• Watch for new charges. A tracker only works if the balances keep going down.
• Recalculate your total and color in a progress bar. Paying $2,250 off $8,450 means you're about 27% of the way there.
• Check your debt-to-income ratio now and then. The CFPB defines debt-to-income ratio as your monthly debt payments divided by your gross monthly income. Watching it drop is another sign of progress.

Pair your tracker with due dates so nothing slips. Our guides on how to organize bills and what to do if you're behind on bills can help. If the minimums are more than your budget can carry, read how a debt management plan through a nonprofit credit counselor works before you miss payments. Moved a card to a 0% intro rate? Our balance transfer credit card guide shows how to pay it off before the promo ends.

Paying on time and bringing balances down also count toward your credit; see how to improve your credit score.

How to calculate interest and progress on your debt tracker

Two extra columns turn a list of debts into a tracker that shows whether you're winning. Monthly interest is the balance times the APR divided by 12. Percent paid off is the amount paid so far divided by the starting balance.

The card has the smallest balance but costs the most each month per dollar owed, which is why the avalanche order targets it first. Lenders calculate interest slightly differently (many cards use a daily rate), so treat the formula as a close estimate and check it against your statement.

To track progress, add a starting balance column that you never change and a % paid off column. A $3,000 card that is down to $2,100 is 30% paid off ($900 ÷ $3,000). Many people color a row in at 25%, 50% and 75% so each milestone is visible.

Build a basic debt tracker in Google Sheets or Excel

1. Make one row per debt with these columns: lender, type, starting balance, current balance, APR, minimum payment, due date.
2. Add a column for monthly interest using the formula above, for example =C2*D2/12 if the balance is in C and the APR is in D as a decimal.
3. Add a total row for balances and minimum payments, so you see your total debt and the monthly minimums at a glance.
4. Copy the tab each month, or add a new column for each month's balance, so you can see the trend line go down.

If you want the interest and payoff dates calculated for you, the Debt Payoff Planner already has those formulas built in. For credit cards specifically, see how long it takes to pay off a credit card and how credit utilization changes as balances fall.

Our debt trackers

The Debt Payoff Planner ($6.99) is a spreadsheet for Excel and Google Sheets that tracks up to 10 debts. It has a snowball or avalanche switch, extra-payment roll-over built in, a month-by-month payoff schedule up to 30 years, the payoff month for every debt, your debt-free date and the interest saved compared with paying minimums. See how it compares to building your own in our debt payoff planner Excel guide.

Prefer paper? The Budget Planner Printable ($5.99) is a 12-page PDF in US Letter and A4 with a Debt Payoff Tracker page, plus a monthly budget, income tracker, expense log, bill payment tracker, savings tracker, sinking funds and an annual summary.

Want both, plus bills and savings? The Ultimate Budget Bundle ($19.99) includes the Debt Payoff Planner, Budget Planner Printable, Bill Tracker Spreadsheet, Bill Tracker Printable, Sinking Funds Tracker, and the Annual, Zero-Based and Paycheck Budget spreadsheets. Browse more in our money collection.

Paying off holiday balances? See how to pay off holiday debt. And to plan next season before it starts, our Holiday Budget Starter Kit is 3 US Letter pages, emailed after you join our list.

Why I plan this way

I grew up in Detroit, the oldest of three, in a working family that rebuilt after 2008. Rebuilding starts with knowing exactly where you stand, and a debt tracker puts that on one page.