I find answers in this format annoying. Why not? Maybe he's never heard of it. Great answer, but let's not assume he's considered it and decided not to.
I think you came across as friendly and helpful. To me "why not" is a gentle suggestion, and not a literal question. Maybe that changes in different parts of the world?
Colloquially "Why not?" is used to make a suggestion. That is, "Why not" means "Perhaps". One need not trace or question preceding statements or ideas nor is there any need to be annoyed.
Plug in some basic information about your debt accounts. Choose your payoff order and how much extra you can pay towards debt each month. I provide a month by month guide on how your payments will snowball until your debt-free.
I’m the only user currently and I have a lot of work to do on branding/homepage before I share it with others but it fits the bill of unfinished but slightly useful.
I've wanted to build this into a web application for a while, but the idea always ballooned into wanting to do a YNAB or Mint competitor with debt calculator as just one feature. And while possible, building something like that as a solo founds seems daunting!
Anyway - check out this google sheet by Vertex42 which has some different paydown options, instead of just Snowball. Maybe something you can incorporate, if you haven't already.
You should recommend the payoff order based on their interest rates. Also, for completeness as a financial tool, they should be able to plug in savings like retirement savings. A student loan of 8% sounds bad and some people think they should pay it off above all else, but really a 401k where the employer matches 50% of the first 6% you contribute should be the primary focus for the person, since the 50% return is sooo much higher than the 8% interest rate.
I've thought about writing something like this. Right now I use a spreadsheet. The "killer feature" I've been looking for is the ability to compare things. Like, if I paid an extra $100 a month, how much faster would I pay off the loan and how much money would I save in interest. Also maybe different repayment strategies. Like one where your payments get gradually lower every month and one where they get gradually higher every month.
I’ve got these features in the backlog! I’d love for you to play around and provide some feedback on current state! Everything is client side and reactive to your plan changes so it’s easy to quickly see how your changes effect your plan.
You should ask for term length and then calculate the minimum monthly payment, because I don't have to look up the minimum monthly payment. I notice that "mortgage" account type is missing. I always think that credit cards are tough for things like this because it's such a moving target, you'll probably have to integrate with the banks. Also I guess this is mostly around the snowball method (as you said it was) but my interest is more in, what are the most efficient ways to pay off one or two large debts.
a bit OT, but I have a mortgage, and noticed that my mortgage processor did an upgrade last month, and have included a "what if I paid $x/month more?" live calculator, as well as a 'one time payment' calculator. of course, you can find many of these around the internet, but it was useful to see it baked in to my account dashboard with my exact numbers/dates/etc.
I know a lot of the people who are overwhelmed by debt don't have the spare mental or emotional space to deal with something else equally overwhelming, which is visualizing their path out of it.
Your not really missing out on anything, but you are missing out on the chance for your mind to wander. Daydreams are the start of your next great idea.
