The Debt Reduction Planner encourages you to:
- Pay off your highest-interest debt (Money owed to another person or company, such as loans, credit card balances, or mortgages. ) first (typically, credit card debt).
- Pay the minimum monthly payment on all other debts.
- Start paying off your second highest-interest debt next.
- Make an extra payment toward your debt whenever possible.
- Continue in this fashion until all your high-interest debt is paid off.
Most people enter only high-interest debt in the Debt Reduction Planner. Some experts recommend paying off low-interest, deductible debt, such as a home mortgage, on its regular payment schedule if you can earn a higher rate of return on your investments (Assets such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, real estate, or other items purchased for expected favorable future returns. ) than the interest rate on the loan (An agreement to borrow or lend money, usually with an interest charge on the amount borrowed.) . However, your goals may vary depending on the amount of time until you retire, your tax situation, and other factors.
After you create a debt reduction plan, you can see an overview of your debt on the Loans & debt page in the Lifetime Planner.
Note
If you want to analyze just one debt, use the Mini-Debt Reduction Planner to see how long it will take you to pay it off, or how much you’ll need to pay each month to pay it off by a certain date. To use the Mini-Debt Reduction Planner, click Banking, and then click Credit Center.
About integrating the debt plan with other Money files
About estimated spending and the debt plan
