7 Great Tools to Help You Get Out of Debt

Advertising Disclosure: When you buy something by clicking links on our site, we may earn a small commission, but it never affects the products or services we recommend.

Worried couple looking at bills in the morning at home with laptop and coffee
WAYHOME studio / Shutterstock.com

We’ve borrowed a lot. Collectively, we Americans owe $14.96 trillion, says the Fed.

Our mortgage balances make up the lion’s share — $10.44 trillion — but we also owe trillions in student loans, auto loans, credit card debt and other revolving credit accounts.

Are you among the millions of folks feeling the weight of that debt?

We’ve written tons of articles that can help you destroy debt, like “How to Pay Off $10,000 in Debt Without Breaking a Sweat” and “10 Ways to Lose Weight and Pay Down Debt — at the Same Time.” (Do a search for “Debt” at the top of this page, and you’ll find lots more.)

But there’s also help in the form of free or cheap apps and websites. Here are several of our favorites:

1. Tally

Credit card debt can be hard to shake. That’s where Tally comes in. This app automates debt management and makes it easy to save money, manage your credit cards and pay down balances faster.

Download the free app and add in your credit cards. If you qualify through a painless credit check — you’ll usually need a credit score of 580 or above — the app will offer you a low-interest line of credit. The interest rate, lower than the rates on your credit cards, will enable you to pay down your debt faster and through one simple payment.

“We are effectively buying [money to lend you] in bulk on behalf of our users and passing the majority of those savings to them,” says Jason Brown, company co-founder.

Tally then takes over the task of paying your cards with the line of credit. You just pay Tally.

Tally also has a debt calculator that can help figure out your “debt-payoff roadmap.”

2. Self

Build credit while you save with Self (formerly Self Lender).

Technically, you take out a loan, but you don’t get the money until you pay it off. No credit score is needed, and Self says it won’t do a “hard pull” credit check.

Here’s how Self works: You choose the free app’s plan that meets your budget, starting at $25 a month, with either a 12- or 24-month term. Your payment goes toward money held in your name as a certificate of deposit.

Each monthly payment is reported to all three credit bureaus. At the end, you’ve paid your loan and get the money from the CD and have built a better credit score. You can use that money to pay down debt.

“I wanted a simple way so that I could help my future self build credit and save money,” James Garvey, CEO and co-founder of the company, told American Banker.

3. Acorns

Invest your spare change with Acorns and save for retirement.

For $3 or $5 per month, you get either a personal or family plan. Both can be used to invest your rounded-up payments on purchases in exchange-traded funds (ETFs), growing your money over time. The family plan has the additional feature of an investment account for your kids.

4. Qoins

Like Acorns, Qoins rounds up your credit card spending to the nearest dollar and applies the money from the difference toward your outstanding debt, or sets it aside for saving, depending on your wishes.

You can choose to apply it to debts such as student loans, credit cards and mortgages.

Qoins users will pay off debt two to seven years early and on average save thousands of dollars on interest payments, its developers say.

Your cost is $2.99 or $4.99 a month, depending on whether you want one or more types of goals, and the amount is deducted from payments it sends you.

5. Debt Free

You can manage your debt with Debt Free, an app that helps you to organize, monitor and pay off your debts using what’s known as a “snowball plan,” in which you aggressively eliminate one debt at a time.

You can choose to first go after debts with the lowest balances, highest interest rates or just in whatever order you choose.

Debt Free also will calculate your overall debt-free date and payoff date for each debt as well as calculate interest and time savings with extra payments.

It will also send you notifications for payment due dates.

The 99-cent app (iOS only) includes three built-in calculators:

  • Payoff date calculator
  • Loan calculator
  • Mortgage calculator

6. Unbury.me

Unbury.me is a free online tool that allows you to create an account, list all of your debts and map out a payment plan to suit your needs.

You can choose from two methods:

  • Avalanche: Attack your debt with the highest interest rate first, then move to the second-highest and so on. This may save you the most money in the long run.
  • Snowball: Focus on your lowest balance first, then the second-lowest and so on. This is the right choice if short-term victories motivate you better to direct more money to your payment goal.

The tool also shows you how much faster you’ll pay off a debt by paying more than the minimum each month instead of just sticking to the minimum.

For example, a $5,000 balance with a $100 minimum monthly payment at 15.9% interest, it showed, would take seven years to pay off, and you’d pay about $3,250 in interest; at $200 a month, you’d be debt-free in just three years and pay only around $1,120 in interest.

7. MTN Solutions Center

Last but not least, if you are struggling with credit card debt and you need help, go to our Solutions Center, where our partner Debt.com can match you with the services you need. It can also help kill off tax or student loan debts, restore your credit, deal with debt collectors and more.

It looks for ways to get you out of high-interest debt and save money. You can request a free evaluation from a certified credit counselor to identify the best credit card debt solution for your situation. Solutions may include credit card balance transfers, debt consolidation loans, debt management programs, settlement programs or consolidated credit programs. If you’d prefer, you can also give Debt.com a call at 888-739-9616.

The site also offers free calculators, free expert advice and other free tools.

Get smarter with your money!

Want the best money-news and tips to help you make more and spend less? Then sign up for the free Money Talks Newsletter to receive daily updates of personal finance news and advice, delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for our free newsletter today.