The Moment
You have balances on 3, 4, maybe 5 credit cards. Different rates, different balances, different minimum payments. It feels overwhelming — like you are fighting on five fronts and losing on all of them.
The solution is counterintuitive: stop fighting on five fronts. Pick one card. Destroy it. Then move to the next.
The Rollover Strategy
Step 1 — List all cards. For each: balance, interest rate, minimum payment.
Step 2 — Choose your target card. - Avalanche: the card with the highest interest rate (saves the most money) - Snowball: the card with the smallest balance (fastest win for motivation)
Step 3 — Pay minimums on all other cards. No extra payments. Just minimums.
Step 4 — Throw every extra dollar at the target card. If your total monthly budget for debt is $800 and minimums on other cards total $300, you have $500/month attacking the target.
Step 5 — When the target is paid off, roll its payment forward. The $500/month you were paying on the first card now adds to the next card's minimum. If that card had a $100 minimum, it now gets $600/month. Each card falls faster than the last.
Example: - Card A: $2,000 at 24% (min $50) — TARGET - Card B: $5,000 at 18% (min $125) - Card C: $8,000 at 15% (min $200) - Budget: $800/month
Month 1-5: Card A gets $425/month ($800 - $125 - $200 - $50 + $50). Paid off in ~5 months. Month 6+: Card B gets $550/month ($425 rolled + $125 min). Paid off in ~10 months. Month 16+: Card C gets $750/month ($550 rolled + $200 min). Paid off in ~12 months.
Total payoff: ~28 months. Without the rollover strategy at minimum payments: 10+ years.
Run Your Numbers
Enter your card details to see the payoff timeline.
Personal Loan Payoff Planner
What to explore next
- →Should I use avalanche or snowball?
- →Should I consolidate into one loan instead?
- →How do I prevent running up cards again?
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I close cards as I pay them off?
Generally no. Closing a card reduces your total available credit, which increases your credit utilization ratio and can lower your score. Cut up the card so you cannot use it, but leave the account open. The exception: if the card has an annual fee and you will not use it, close it.