Debtless
Privacy & habits
Weekly or monthly debt check-ins: pick your rhythm
How to choose between a weekly or monthly debt check-in based on your pay schedule and how much anxiety checking in tends to bring up for you.
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
Getting started
Pay off debt or save first? A way to decide
A way to weigh a starter cash cushion against extra debt payments, including the one common exception worth checking first.
Payoff methods
Where collection accounts fit in a payoff order
How to decide where a collection account belongs in your payoff order, including validating the debt first and checking whether it still accrues interest.
Free debt apps
How free finance apps make money, and how to check
Learn the common ways a free finance app can be funded, from ads to referrals, and how to check which one applies before you trust it.
Budget & cash flow
Budgeting the real cost of a car while in debt
A car loan payment is only part of what a car costs. Add insurance, fuel, maintenance and registration before deciding what's left for debt.
Credit card debt
Store credit cards in a payoff plan
Store credit cards often carry high APRs and deferred-interest promotions. Here is how to fit one into a debt payoff plan without missing a promo deadline.
Payments & progress
What "percent paid off" really measures
How percent paid off is calculated against your original debt, and why new borrowing can make the number misleading if you are not careful.
Loans & bills
What Is Capitalized Interest? Student Loan Guide | Debtless
Capitalized interest is unpaid interest added to principal. See current, loan-specific triggers to verify before estimating your student loan balance.
Life & debt
Carrying debt into retirement: a planning checklist
How to plan for debt payments on a retirement budget, including which balances to prioritize and building the numbers before income drops.
Privacy & habits
Paying bills on public Wi-Fi: safer habits
Safer habits for paying bills on public Wi-Fi: using cellular data instead when you can, sticking to official apps, and relying on two-factor authentication.
Getting started
Pay off debt or invest? Compare the certain rate
Why paying off high-rate debt is a certain return and investing is not, and how to think through the comparison for your own numbers.
Payoff methods
Car loan or credit card: which to pay off first?
Why the interest rate, not the balance size, usually decides whether a car loan or a credit card deserves extra payments first.
Free debt apps
How to read an App Store privacy label for a money app
Learn what the three categories on an App Store privacy label mean so you can judge what a money app actually does with your data.
Budget & cash flow
Your rent went up. Rework the debt plan in 20 minutes
A rent increase eats into the same budget as your extra debt payment. Here is a quick way to recalculate the extra amount while keeping every minimum covered.
Credit card debt
Several cards, one budget: which card to pay first
How to rank several credit cards when you only have a fixed amount of extra money each month, with a quick example.
Payments & progress
Staying with a plan when progress feels slow
Why early debt payoff progress often feels slow, how the interest share of each payment falls over time, and how to shorten the feedback loop.
Loans & bills
Check a medical bill before paying: a short routine
A short routine for checking a medical bill against the itemized charges and your insurance explanation of benefits before paying it in full.
Life & debt
Using an inheritance or settlement to pay debt
How to decide whether to use an inheritance or settlement to pay off debt, including a pause for taxes and an emergency buffer first.
Privacy & habits
Posting debt progress online without exposing details
How to share debt payoff progress online safely: post percentages and milestones instead of account details, and check screenshots before you crop and share.
Getting started
How long does it take to pay off $10,000 in debt?
Months to pay off a $10,000 balance at three different payment sizes, simulated month by month with the same 22% APR held constant.
Give your plan a place to live.
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