A debt snowball worksheet answers two questions on one page: what do you owe, and which debt gets paid off first. Below is a filled-in example with both order columns (snowball and avalanche), a worked payoff example with real month counts, and a blank version you can print and use tonight. If you want the same system on paper with cash envelopes and monthly budgets, the full 24-page pack is $9, linked at the bottom.
How to use this page: read the example table to see how the two order columns get filled, check the worked example to see what the two orders cost, then print the blank worksheet and number your own debts from today's statements. Not from memory. Statements.
Five debts, the kind most households carry. The two number columns are the whole worksheet: Snowball # counts up from the smallest balance, Avalanche # counts up from the highest APR.
| Debt | Balance | APR | Min payment | Snowball # | Avalanche # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medical bill (payment plan) | $1,200 | 0% | $50 | 1 | 5 |
| Store card | $2,400 | 27.99% | $60 | 2 | 1 |
| Auto loan | $3,100 | 7.49% | $95 | 3 | 3 |
| Credit card | $5,800 | 24.99% | $115 | 4 | 2 |
| Student loan | $7,900 | 5.99% | $210 | 5 | 4 |
| Total | $20,400 | $530/mo | |||
Fill both columns before picking one. Seeing where they disagree is what makes the choice real: the medical bill is #1 for the snowball and #5 for the avalanche, because a 0% debt saves zero interest no matter when you kill it.
The example rows above are numbered in snowball order, which is the order the printed pack teaches. The reasoning: the first debt down is $1,200, gone in weeks rather than years, and a finished debt is what keeps people paying past month three. If you would rather optimize interest, cross out the snowball column and follow the avalanche numbers instead. Pick one and cross out the other, so nobody helpfully re-sorts your list in October.
Snowball pays the smallest balance first. Avalanche pays the highest APR first. Avalanche is the cheaper order on paper; snowball hands you a finished debt sooner. Here is the same $500 a month spent both ways, interest charged monthly (APR ÷ 12) on the running balance, every spare dollar rolling to the first debt in the chosen order:
| Order | First debt dead | All debts dead | Total interest paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snowball (store card first) | month 10 | month 21 | about $1,803 |
| Avalanche (credit card first) | month 13 | month 21 | about $1,503 |
The two debts in the example:
Minimums total $242, so $258 rolls to the target debt every month on a $500 budget. Both orders finish in month 21, because the budget is the budget. The gap is $300 of interest and the shape of the win: the snowball kills the $2,900 card at month 10, the avalanche kills the $4,600 card at month 13 and pays $300 less for the privilege. With a $258 extra payment and these two APRs, that is the whole gap. Widen the APR spread or shrink the extra payment and the avalanche's edge grows; the snowball's edge (an early win you can color in) does not.
Hit print. The example tables and the site chrome drop out on paper; what stays is the blank sheet below. Print at 100%, fill it from today's statements, number both columns, keep the one you chose visible.
| Debt | Balance | APR % | Min payment | Snowball # | Avalanche # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | |||||
Five rows not enough? Print the page twice, or use the 10-row master sheet in the full pack. List everything: cards, loans, medical, BNPL, the loan from family.
The snowball tells the extra dollars where to go. Envelopes make sure the extra dollars exist. If you have not set the envelopes up yet, the free cash envelope template is one printable pocket with the transaction log on the back. Once minimums and the extra payment are committed, the rest of the month runs on cash in labeled envelopes: groceries, gas, dining out, fun money. When an envelope is empty, that category waits until next month, or you make a trade from another envelope and write it down. That feedback loop is the cash envelope system, and it is what stops new balances from growing while you pay the old ones down. The full pack prints 14 of them: cut on the solid border, fold on the dashed line, log every move on the back.
Everything is write-in by design: no app, no login, nothing to install. Comes as A4 and US Letter PDFs, prints fine in grayscale.
Full Debt Snowball & Cash Envelope pack, 24 pages - $9 →$9 one-time · A4 + US Letter · instant download · personal use, print copies for your own household