This guide walks you through every feature of DebtFree Dashboard — from adding your first debt to using the strategy and scenario tools to accelerate your payoff.
The most important step. Pull up your actual statements — not what you think you owe. The accuracy of every calculation depends on what you enter here.
On the Dashboard tab, scroll past your stats cards to find the debt entry form. You'll fill this out once for each debt you have.
Give it a recognizable name — Chase Sapphire, Student Loan, Car Payment. Select the type from the dropdown. The type is used for display only and doesn't affect calculations.
Use your current statement balance — the exact amount you owe right now. Don't round up or down. Every dollar matters for your Freedom Date.
Find this on your statement or online account. Enter it as a number — for example, enter 22.99 not 0.2299. If you have multiple APRs on one card (purchases vs cash advance), use the purchase APR.
The minimum monthly payment shown on your statement. This is used to calculate how long payoff takes if you only pay minimums — and as the baseline for extra payment calculations.
For balance transfers or promo credit cards at 0%, tick the checkbox. You'll get three extra fields: Promo Rate (enter 0), Promo End Date, and Rate After Promo. The dashboard automatically switches to the real rate when the promo expires in your simulation. Don't skip this — it significantly affects your payoff projections.
Your debt appears in the list and all stats update immediately. Repeat for every debt you have. The more complete your list, the more accurate your Freedom Date.
| Field | Where to find it |
|---|---|
| Balance | Current statement balance or online account |
| APR | Statement, online account, or back of card agreement |
| Min Payment | "Minimum Payment Due" on your statement |
| Promo End Date | Your balance transfer confirmation email or statement |
| Rate After Promo | Your original card agreement or online account |
Your command center. Four live stats at the top update instantly as you add debts, change your extra payment, or log payments.
The month and year your last debt hits zero. This is your north star. Every feature in the app exists to pull this date closer.
How much less interest you'll pay vs. making minimum payments only. This number grows significantly when you add an extra monthly payment.
Any amount you can consistently add above your minimums. Even $50/month can save thousands and shave years off your timeline. Change this anytime.
What you're paying in interest this month just to stand still. Use this as motivation — every extra dollar you pay reduces this number permanently.
Log every payment as you make it. This keeps your balances accurate and tracks your real progress toward milestones.
Choose which debt you made a payment to from the dropdown.
The exact amount you paid — including both the minimum and any extra. If you paid $350 on a $200 minimum, enter 350.
Defaults to today. You can backdate payments if you forgot to log one. The debt balance updates immediately and the payment appears in your history below.
Made a mistake? Tap Edit on any payment in the log. The balance recalculates correctly from your original starting balance — not just a patch on top.
Log a payment with a future date and it shows as pending — it won't affect your balance until that date arrives. The app auto-confirms it when the date comes.
Three strategies for attacking your debt. Pick the one you'll actually stick to — the best strategy is the one you follow.
Attacks your highest APR debt first. Minimums paid on everything else, all extra goes to the top-rate debt. You pay the least total interest over time. Best if you're disciplined and want to minimize cost.
Attacks your smallest balance first. You eliminate debts faster in terms of count. Research shows this keeps people more motivated. If you've struggled staying on track before, start here.
Blends both — considers APR and balance together. Good middle ground if you want some interest savings without waiting forever for your first debt to be eliminated.
Your scenario sandbox. Model what happens if you find extra money — without changing any of your real data. Sliders reset every time you open this tab.
Slide to see how much time and interest you'd save by consistently adding that amount above your current plan. Even $100/mo often saves a year or more.
Model an immediate one-time payment — a tax refund, bonus, or windfall. The slider goes up to your full remaining balance so you can see what full payoff looks like.
Slide the lump sum to your full remaining balance and you'll see "Debt Free! 🎉" appear in the Freedom Date card with full months saved displayed.
The baseline freedom date in What If already accounts for any Planned Lump Sum payments you've entered on the Dashboard. You're modeling on top of your real plan.
Nine milestone badges that unlock automatically as you hit thresholds. Paying off debt takes years — this tab keeps the wins visible.
Unlocks the moment you log your first payment. The easiest badge — and the most important one to get, because it means you've started.
Badges at $500, $5,000, and $10,000 paid off. These track cumulative payments across all debts so every dollar counts toward the next milestone.
Unlocks when you pay any debt to $0. This one feels different. Hold onto that feeling — use it to attack the next one.
Based on your overall progress percentage. Halfway unlocks at 50%, Final Stretch at 75%. These are the hardest to earn and the most satisfying to see.
Found in the Backup & Restore section on the Dashboard tab. Three tools that protect your data and keep your app current.
Downloads a JSON file containing everything — all debts, payment history, planned lump sums, strategy, and settings. Save this to your Files app, iCloud, or email it to yourself. Do this every few months or after entering a lot of new data.
Restores your full data from a backup file. Use this when switching devices, reinstalling the app, or recovering after clearing browser data. Select your JSON backup file and everything restores instantly.
Checks if a newer version of the dashboard is available. If one exists, it automatically saves your data, loads the new version, and restores your data. You never lose anything during an update. Tap this periodically to get new features.
Things that make the dashboard more powerful once you've got the basics down.
After making your payments each month, tap Edit on each debt card and update the current balance from your statement. Keeps your Freedom Date accurate as you make real progress.
Use Planned Lump Sum Payments on the Dashboard to schedule future bonuses, tax refunds, or any irregular income. The system allocates them by strategy and updates your Freedom Date automatically.
Not happy with your current strategy? Switch it on the Strategy tab. Your payment log stays intact and all calculations update immediately to reflect the new approach.
The single most impactful input in the entire dashboard is the Extra Monthly Payment field. Even finding $25 more per month moves your Freedom Date noticeably. Model it in What If first.
Log the full amount you paid on each debt, not just the "extra" portion. If you paid $350 on a card with a $200 minimum, log $350. The simulation tracks your minimum payments internally.
When a debt hits $0, your minimum payments for that card get freed up. The app automatically rolls that freed cash into attacking your next target. This is why the payoff accelerates dramatically near the end.