Debt payoff updates

Short, practical notes on paying off debt faster — the avalanche-vs-snowball trade-off, the minimum-payment trap, and where to find money for an extra payment. Each links back into the calculator so you can run the numbers on your own debts.

• Credit Card Rates in Mid-2026: What Today's APRs Do to Your Payoff Plan — The Fed's latest data puts the average card APR at 22.15% for accounts carrying a balance. Here's what that rate does to a real payoff plan, in months and dollars.
• Avalanche vs. snowball: which actually wins? — The math says avalanche, the psychology says snowball — here's how to decide in two minutes.
• Why minimum payments keep you in debt — Minimum payments are designed to maximize interest, not to pay off your balance. Here's the arithmetic.
• Finding an extra $100 a month without a spreadsheet — Three places the average household finds money for extra debt payments, ranked by effort.

Updated July 2026