Uploaded February 2020 | Updated September 2026, 4 hours ago

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Going beyond the debt avalanche and debt snowball to pay off debt, we look at four lesser known, but sometimes highly useful, debt stacking strategies that folks like Dave Ramsey and his ilk seldom mention. They can be powerful tools in your quest to get out of debt along the way to financial freedom.


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