Prompt details

Tested on

Claude Opus 5.5

Length

649 words · 3 fill-ins

Example input

[Your debts]: Visa ending 4410: balance $4,200, APR 27.24%, minimum $126 Store Mastercard ending 2287: balance $1,800, APR 22.49%, minimum $45 Visa ending 9035: balance $6,500, APR 18.99%, minimum $163 Car loan: balance $9,000, APR 6.9%, payment $289, 34 payments left I've had the 4410 Visa for 9 years and never missed a payment. The 2287 card's bank is offering me a balance transfer: 0% for 15 months with a 4% fee.

[Monthly money for debt]: $1,223 a month in total: the $623 of minimums plus $600 extra.

[Income, spending and priorities]: I'm single, live in Phoenix and take home $5,200 a month. Monthly spending: rent $1,650, utilities $220, groceries $560, car insurance $145, gas $180, phone $85, subscriptions $64 (Netflix $15, Hulu $18, Spotify $11, gym $20), eating out and takeout about $340, personal and household $250, other $180, debt payments $1,223. About $300 a month is left over and usually disappears. Emergency savings: $1,500. What matters to me: I tried paying off debt two years ago and gave up after 4 months because nothing seemed to change. I'd like to see a card disappear soon, but I don't want to waste a lot on interest either.

Example output

1. Debt table

Debt	Balance	APR	Minimum	Interest this month
Visa 4410	$4,200	27.24%	$126	$95
Store Mastercard 2287	$1,800	22.49%	$45	$34
Visa 9035	$6,500	18.99%	$163	$103
Car loan	$9,000	6.90%	$289	$52
Total	$21,500		$623	$284

2. Snowball vs avalanche ($1,223 a month for both)

How every month is modelled:

Interest = balance × APR ÷ 12, added before the payment.
Minimums stay as you gave them, and the extra $600 goes to the target debt.
When a debt is paid off, its whole payment moves to the next target from the following month.
Assumption: in a payoff month, any cash left after the final payment goes to the next target that same month, so you always pay exactly $1,223.
All figures are rounded estimates. Lenders charge daily interest, and card minimums usually fall as balances fall.

Debt	Snowball payoff month	Avalanche payoff month
Store Mastercard 2287	Month 3	Month 9
Visa 4410	Month 9	Month 7
Visa 9035	Month 16	Month 16
Car loan	Month 20	Month 20
Total interest	≈ $2,611	≈ $2,560
Debt-free month	Month 20 (last payment ≈ $874)	Month 20 (last payment ≈ $823)

3. My order and why

I recommend the snowball: Store Mastercard 2287 → Visa 4410 → Visa 9035 → car loan.

You told me you quit last time at month 4 because nothing seemed to change. The snowball wipes out a whole card in Month 3, before that danger point. The avalanche's first payoff doesn't come until Month 7.
The cost is about $51 more interest over the whole plan.
You are debt-free in Month 20 either way, so the snowball costs you no time.
From Month 4, the freed-up $645 goes to the 27.24% Visa, so your most expensive debt still gets attacked early.

4. First three months (snowball)

Month	Debt	Start balance	Interest	Payment	End balance

Claude Opus 5.5

Pay Off Debt Faster – Debt payoff plan prompt for ChatGPT and Claude

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Claude Opus 5.5

This prompt builds a month-by-month plan to pay off your cards and loans. Paste your debts, what you can pay and your budget; you get both methods compared, a recommended order and scripts for calls to lenders.

What you get

Snowball and avalanche side by side: each debt's payoff month, total interest and debt-free month
A recommended order with the trade-off in dollars, and the first three months shown so you can check the method
Extra money found in your own budget, and how much sooner it gets you out
Word-for-word scripts for a lower rate and a hardship programme, with what to say to a no

How to use it

1
List every debt
Copy each balance, APR and minimum payment from your statements or apps, and add any offer you have, such as a balance transfer.
2
Pick your order
Read the comparison table and the recommended order. If staying motivated matters more than a small interest difference, snowball is a fair choice.
3
Check the method, then call
Rebuild the first three months in a spreadsheet, then make the calls. Change nothing until new terms arrive in writing.

Better results

Ask: "Rerun the plan if I add $200 a month from Month 4." It redoes the payoff months, so you can see what a raise or side income would change.
If you take a balance transfer, paste the new balance, the fee and the month the promotion ends, and run the prompt again, since the order can change.
Use the first-three-months table to check the method in your own spreadsheet before you trust the later months.

Questions

Can ChatGPT make a debt payoff plan?

Yes. ChatGPT can make a debt payoff plan when you give it each debt's balance, APR and minimum payment, and the total you can pay each month. Ask it to show the method so you can check it, and treat the months as estimates, since lenders charge interest daily.

Is the snowball or avalanche method better?

Avalanche, highest rate first, usually costs the least interest. Snowball, smallest balance first, clears a debt sooner, which helps many people keep going. On our test debts the difference was about $51 over 20 months, so the plan you will stick to matters more.

Should I call my credit card company to lower my interest rate?

It is worth asking, especially if you have paid on time for years. The card issuer can say no, and a lower rate is never guaranteed, so get any new terms in writing and keep paying as planned until they arrive.

When should I see a credit counsellor about debt?

See a nonprofit credit counsellor if your minimum payments no longer fit your budget, a debt has gone to collections, or you are being sued or garnished. Be wary of debt settlement companies: they charge fees and can damage your credit.

Updated 8 Nov 2026