Uploaded January 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Dave Ramsey's Debt Snow Ball method can lower costs to start getting debt free, but your back-end interest cost will nearly always be higher. This makes it not the best option for getting debt free in terms of interest costs, but it provides small early victories. This makes it easier for many people to stick to it.
All the formulae for the calculations in this series are below.
Monthly rate(MR) = APR/1200
Daily rate(DR) = APR/36500
Monthly interest cost using MR = (1+MR) x Unpaid balance
Monthly interest cost using DR = (1+DR) x Unpaid balance x Days in billing period
Minimum payment formulas for credit cards(most commonly used version, check your statement):
1% of unpaid balance + Monthly interest cost + fees(if any) + penalties(if any).
Minimum monthly payment for a fixed payment loan:
Monthly payment = [MR +((MR/((1+MR)^months)-1)) x principal balance + fees and penalties(if any)
Formula for future value(FV) of periodic payments based on present value(PV) where:
r is the daily, monthly, or annual interest rate
n is the number of years on the loan
k is the frequency of compounding
PMT is the periodic payment amount
PV is the present value(0 if just starting) of the asset or account
Payment deposited at end of period:
FV = PV(1+r/k)^(nk) + ((PMT(1+((r/k)^nk)−1) / (r/k)
Payment deposited at beginning of period:
FV=PV(1+rk)^nk + (PMT(1+(r/k)^nk)−1)/(r/k)*(1+r/k)
If r=0: FV=PV+PMT×nk
Dave Ramsey's Debt Snow Ball method can lower costs to start getting debt free, but your back-end interest cost will nearly always be higher. This makes it not the best option for getting debt free in terms of interest costs, but it provides small early victories. This makes it easier for many people to stick to it.
All the formulae for the calculations in this series are below.
Monthly rate(MR) = APR/1200
Daily rate(DR) = APR/36500
Monthly interest cost using MR = (1+MR) x Unpaid balance
Monthly interest cost using DR = (1+DR) x Unpaid balance x Days in billing period
Minimum payment formulas for credit cards(most commonly used version, check your statement):
1% of unpaid balance + Monthly interest cost + fees(if any) + penalties(if any).
Minimum monthly payment for a fixed payment loan:
Monthly payment = [MR +((MR/((1+MR)^months)-1)) x principal balance + fees and penalties(if any)
Formula for future value(FV) of periodic payments based on present value(PV) where:
r is the daily, monthly, or annual interest rate
n is the number of years on the loan
k is the frequency of compounding
PMT is the periodic payment amount
PV is the present value(0 if just starting) of the asset or account
Payment deposited at end of period:
FV = PV(1+r/k)^(nk) + ((PMT(1+((r/k)^nk)−1) / (r/k)
Payment deposited at beginning of period:
FV=PV(1+rk)^nk + (PMT(1+(r/k)^nk)−1)/(r/k)*(1+r/k)
If r=0: FV=PV+PMT×nk
