Debtless
Budget & cash flow
Where to keep your buffer while paying off debt
A debt-payoff buffer belongs in a separate savings account you can reach quickly, not in everyday checking and not in investments that can lose value.
Money decisions, made clearer.
The Debtless Journal
Debtless is a 100% free debt payoff app for iPhone. Practical ways to get out of debt, one decision at a time. Clear examples, useful routines and a free app to put your plan into practice. The Debtless Journal is a free debt blog of practical articles on payoff methods, credit card interest, loans, collections, budgeting and privacy, written for anyone deciding how to pay down what they owe. It turns reading like this into a plan, drawing on 442 articles in this library.
The Debtless Journal articles
442 articles
Credit card debt
How to pay off $20,000 in credit card debt
What a $20,000 credit card payoff can look like month by month, and how to tell when nonprofit counseling is worth a call.
Payments & progress
A year-end debt review in one hour
How to spend one hour at year's end tallying interest paid, checking your balance change and setting a specific debt target for next year.
Loans & bills
Car title loans: the cost and the risk to your car
How car title loan costs typically work, why the car itself is on the line, and what the FTC recommends checking before taking one out.
Life & debt
Debt fatigue: adjusting a plan you can no longer stand
What to do when your debt payoff plan feels unbearable: lower the extra payment on purpose, add a small fun line, and shorten your milestones.
Privacy & habits
How to delete your data when you leave a money app
The right order for leaving a money app: unlink any connected bank account first, then request an account deletion or use a local erase, then remove the app.
Getting started
Overwhelmed by debt? Start with these three numbers
The three-number check is a quick way to size up debt: total owed, total minimums and the next due date.
Payoff methods
Should your mortgage be in your payoff plan?
Why most people separate a mortgage from a consumer debt payoff plan, and when including it actually gives you a clearer picture.
Free debt apps
Switching debt apps without losing your history
A step-by-step way to move from one debt payoff app to another without losing your payment history or getting your balances wrong.
Budget & cash flow
After a debt is gone: keep the payment working
When a debt is paid off, redirect the whole payment right away, before it blends into everyday spending and quietly disappears into lifestyle creep.
Credit card debt
What a 25% APR costs per month on common balances
A quick table showing roughly what a 25% APR credit card adds in interest each month on a $1,000 to $10,000 balance.
Payments & progress
What to do in the first month after becoming debt-free
The first month after your last debt payment: confirm the zero balance, redirect the payment, build a buffer and keep the closing paperwork.
Loans & bills
Owing the IRS: fitting a payment plan into your budget
How an IRS installment agreement generally works, why interest and penalties keep accruing, and how to fit the monthly payment into your budget.
Life & debt
You added new debt mid-plan. Reset without starting over
What to do when new debt shows up during a payoff plan: add it to the list, re-rank by rate, and find out what caused it before moving on.
Privacy & habits
Read a money app privacy policy in five minutes
How to scan a money app's privacy policy quickly by searching for a handful of key words: share, sell, third parties and retain, instead of reading it all.
Getting started
Too anxious to open your statements? Start smaller
A smaller way to face debt statements when opening them feels too hard: short timed sessions, one envelope at a time, no judgment.
Payoff methods
Lump sum or monthly extra: which helps more?
Why applying a windfall as a single lump sum usually beats spreading the same amount out monthly, shown with matching totals compared.
Free debt apps
Payment reminders: what helps and what nags
Set up debt payment reminders that give you enough lead time to act, without so many alerts that you start ignoring all of them.
Budget & cash flow
A monthly money review when you live alone
A simple 30-minute monthly money review for one person: check balances, compare spending to budget, and write down every decision you make.
Credit card debt
Are card rewards worth it while you carry a balance?
How to compare what a credit card's rewards are actually worth against the interest you pay while carrying a balance.
Give your plan a place to live.
Track balances and compare payoff methods in Debtless. Free, with no account or bank connection.
