Guides

The math behind getting out of debt.

Five short guides, each answering one question people ask at 6:40am. The arithmetic is shown, not summarized, so you can check it. They are meant to be useful whether or not you ever use Advizel.

• How much of my paycheck can safely go toward debt?

  Four numbers decide it: what is in checking, what is due before payday, what you will spend getting there, and a buffer. The rest is subtraction.

• Avalanche vs. snowball: which order actually costs less?

  Three cards, the same monthly payment, both orders run to the end. The gap is real and smaller than the arguments about it.

• Why paying only the minimum costs so much

  A $5,000 balance, three ways to pay it, and the one reason minimum-only takes eleven years.

• How to find money for debt without doing a budget

  You do not need categories. You need your flow: what comes in, what must go out, and what is left between now and payday.

• What a "tight day" is, and how to see one coming

  Most overdrafts are a timing problem, not a money problem. Walking the balance forward a day at a time shows the tight day three days before it lands.