How much of your paycheck should actually go to debt payoff?
TL;DR: High-interest debt (credit cards especially) usually deserves aggressive prioritization — often as much as you can afford beyond essentials and a small buffer. Lower-interest debt can reasonably be balanced against other goals like investing, rather than demanding every spare dollar.
Why a flat percentage rule misses the point
A commonly cited "20% to debt" guideline doesn't distinguish between 22% credit card debt (where aggressive payoff usually wins) and a 4% student loan (where investing extra might reasonably win instead) — the right allocation depends on the rate, not a fixed share of income.
A more useful framework
- Keep minimums current on everything, always
- Throw as much as reasonably possible at anything above ~7-8% interest
- Balance lower-rate debt against other goals (investing, saving) rather than treating it identically to high-interest debt
Get your specific attack order and amount
Get Rid of My Loan calculates the exact prioritized order across all your debts and the fastest debt-free date — not a flat percentage rule.
Build my payoff plan — $9.99 →Frequently asked questions
Is it wrong to invest at all while carrying debt?
Not necessarily — for low-interest debt, especially if there's an employer investment match involved, continuing to invest while paying down debt at a normal pace can make more sense than diverting 100% to payoff.
What counts as 'high-interest' debt worth prioritizing aggressively?
Most planners consider anything above roughly 7-8% a strong candidate for aggressive payoff, since that rate is difficult to reliably beat with a lower-risk investment — credit cards, often in the high teens to 20s%, are the clearest case.