Step 1 — Your debt inventory
| Debt / Creditor |
Type |
Balance ($) |
APR (%) |
Min. payment |
Status |
| e.g. Chase Visa | | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
Types: credit card · personal loan · overdraft · buy-now-pay-later · student loan · medical · informal · other
| Status: current · late · in collections · charged off
Step 2 — Your three totals
Total debt
$_______
Sum of all balances above
Monthly minimums
$_______
Sum of all min. payments
Daily interest cost
$_______
Total debt × avg APR ÷ 365
Step 3 — Don't miss these
- Overdraft balance (often not reported to credit bureaus)
- Buy-now-pay-later balances (Klarna, Afterpay, Affirm, etc.)
- Informal debts — money owed to friends or family
- Medical bills not yet in collections
- Outstanding parking fines, government debts, or utilities
- Any account you avoid thinking about — especially that one
Step 4 — What your total tells you
Under $5,000
Payoff is realistic in 1–3 years with a structured plan. The math works in your favour — you just need a sequence.
$5,000 – $15,000
Strategy matters more than speed. Which debt you hit first — and in what order — changes the total interest you pay significantly.
$15,000 – $40,000
Negotiation is on the table. At this level, creditor conversations and payoff sequencing can reduce what you actually owe — not just how fast you pay.
Over $40,000
Multiple options exist. Payoff plans, debt management, and settlement all have different costs and timelines. Understanding them before committing matters.
Step 5 — What comes next
→
You now have your number. That is more than most people ever do. The next step is building a payoff sequence — which debt to hit first, what to say to creditors, and how to stop the minimum payment trap from costing you years. Everything you need is at
thesilentdebt.com.