Unbury me is an innovative loan calculator website, launched in 2011, that helps consumers pay off their debts more quickly and easily. This applies to student loan debt, mortgage and auto loan debt, and more. If you’re struggling to pay off your debt, this online tool may be able to help you better understand your debt and create a strategy to pay it off faster.
Unbury Me Debt Calculator
After entering their loan information for one or more loans on Unbury Me, users can compare two different methods of repaying their debt: the snowball method and the avalanche method.
The calculated results include how long it will take the user to pay off their debt using each method of repayment and how much total interest the user will pay over that time.
Benefits of Unbury Me
Visualize Debt Repayment
Unbury.me allows users to quickly and easily view all of their debt information and create a strategy for paying off their debts.
If you want to better visualize how a repayment plan will play out in the long term, the Unbury Me calculator can help.
Find the Best Options
Unbury Me’s simple tools make it easy to compare different repayment strategies to find the one that will most benefit you.
Keep Track
Unbury Me allows you to enter and save information for multiple loans, which means you can easily keep track of your progress on all of your debts at the same time.
No Cost to Use
Unbury Me is free, unlike many financial planning tools. At this time, there’s no indication that Unbury.me will cost money in the future.
How Does Unbury Me Work?
Unbury has an intuitive interface that’s fairly easy to use. To take advantage of its features, simply go to the homepage and enter your loans. You have the option of signing up so that your information can be saved for next time you log in.
To add a loan to your personal database, you’ll enter the following information:
- Loan Name
- Principal Remaining ($)
- Interest (%)
- Monthly Minimum Payment ($)
Unbury Me Results
Once you enter in your loan information, you’ll see an interactive dashboard that shows the following information:
– Principal Paid
This represents how much principal you’ve paid and how much you have to go.
– Pay-Off Date
This represents the date by which you’ll be debt-free if you continue your current repayment schedule
– Interest Paid
This represents the interest you’ll have paid over that time.
– Average Interest Rate
Your average interest rate across all loans.
Debt Graph
After entering all of your loan information, you will also see an interactive graph that lets you look at the principal, interest, and monthly payments over the coming years.
The graph is a great way to further visualize how long it will take you to pay off your loans with your current payment plan, and how much interest you’ll pay over that time.
Payment Plan
If you click the “View Loan Payments” button under “My Loan” on your Dashboard, you’ll be able to see every projected payment for that particular loan until it is fully paid off.
This list of payments includes the percentage towards the principal, as well as the total principal remaining and the total amount of interest paid.
Opening up this list of payments—and even printing it if you’d like—can help you hone in on your debt repayment strategy.
Payment Plan Types: Avalanche vs. Snowball Repayment
Once you’ve entered your loan or loans into the database, you can select one of two payment plan types: avalanche or snowball.
These payment plan types are the two most popular methods of streamlining and focusing the debt-repayment process. To get the most out of Unbury Me and other debt management calculators and sites, it’s important to understand the two types of debt repayment plan.
– Avalanche
The “Avalanche” type of payment plan is where you, as the debtor, focus on paying off the debt with the highest interest rate first.
You do this by first allotting enough money each month to make the minimum payments towards each of your debts. Then, you put any remaining funds you may have available toward paying off the debt with the highest interest rate as fast as possible.
– Snowball
Your other option, the “Snowball” type of payment plan, is where you, as the debtor, focus on paying off the smallest of your debt accounts first.
Like with the avalanche method, you do this by allotting enough money each month to make the minimum payments toward each of your debts, then dedicating any remaining funds to paying off the smallest of your debt accounts.
Example of Avalanche vs. Snowball Repayment:
In this example, you have the following debts:
Loan A – Principal Remaining: $1,000 – Interest Rate: 9%
Loan B – Principal Remaining: $2,200 – Interest Rate: 12%
Loan C – Principal Remaining: $6,000 – Interest Rate: 7%
Avalanche: Using the avalanche method of debt repayment, you focus on repaying the debt with the highest interest rate first: in this case, Loan B. Each month, you make the minimum payment on all three loans, and then put any additional funds you have available towards Loan B.
Snowball: Using the snowball method of debt repayment, you focus on repaying the debt with the lowest principal remaining first: in this case, Loan A. Each month, you make the minimum payment on all three loans, and then put any additional funds you have available towards Loan A.
More Sites Like Unbury Me
Unbury Me may be one of the most simple debt calculators available, but it isn’t the only option if you want a tool for visualizing and strategizing debt repayment.
Bankrate
Bankrate is a well-established personal financing website with many different debt calculators available, including a debt payoff calculator.
Bankrate’s Debt Payoff Calculator will give you much of the same information as Unbury Me provides, albeit in a less simplified format. You’ll also be able to compare your current payoff schedule with that of a consolidated debt plan using the Bankrate interface.
Credit Karma
Credit Karma has earned a reputation as the easiest way to monitor your credit, and its debt calculators fairly easy to use, too.
Credit Karma offers a Debt Repayment Calculator, which shows users how long it will take to pay of their debt based on balance owed, interest rate, expected monthly payment, and desired payoff timeframe.
CNN Money
CNN Money is another trusted site that offers a simple-to-use and free debt calculator. Just enter the amount you owe, the interest rate, and the monthly payment on one or more debts, and click “Calculate”.
The results you receive on CNN Money’s calculator are fairly limited compared to Unbury Me and other options, and only include your debt-free-by date, and the amount of interest you’ll pay.
StudentLoans.gov
If your only or primary debts are federal student loan debts, you can rely on the federal government’s dedicated site, studentloans.gov.
The calculator function available on studentloans.gov often goes unnoticed, but it’s highly useful if you want to better understand and visualize your federal student loan repayment progress.
As with Unbury Me, you’ll be given a chart detailing how much time you’ll be in repayment with your current repayment strategy and how much you’ll pay in total. And unlike Unbury Me, you’ll also see options for forgiveness and income-driven repayment plans if you qualify.
More Ways to Get Out of Debt Fast
Using a debt calculator like Unbury Me is a great start on the path to zero debt, but there are other things you can do to speed up the process, too. If you’re serious about paying down your debts faster, the following options may help:
Consider Consolidating
If you have more than one debt balance, consolidating your debt might be a good way to speed up the process of paying off your debt. By consolidating, you turn multiple debt accounts into one larger debt account, either with one of your current lenders or with an entirely new lender.
Note that if you have student loans that you want to consolidate, you can use the federal government’s dedicated student loan programs to consolidate your federal loans. You cannot, however, consolidate your private loans together with your federal ones.
Consolidation, for whatever type of debt you might have, can help you focus your debt repayment efforts and streamline the entire process. Consolidation also often involves refinancing, which can result in a new payment plan (higher monthly payments, less time in debt). Our refinance calculator can help you assess whether a refinance makes sense for you. This calculator works for any type of loan.
Learn more about debt consolidation here.
Create a Budget and Stick to It
We’ve all heard it a thousand times: “Make a budget.” But there really is something to that advice. Even creating a simple budget by listing what you spend each month on groceries, coffee, clothes, etc. can go a long way towards refocusing your debt repayment efforts.
Creating a budget—and sticking to it—is easier now than ever before, with the advent of simple budgeting apps. If you’re not sure where to begin, try one of these:
Mint
Mint by Intuit has quickly become one of the most popular apps for easily managing your money with it’s simple interface and helpful reminders.
You Need A Budget (YNAB)
Investopedia labeled You Need a Budget the “best app for getting out of debt” because of its built in “accountability partner”.
Digit
Much like the micro-investment app Acorns, Digit helps you make progress toward debt payoff by putting money back into your savings. The app analyzes your spending habits and transfers a tiny amount (one you won’t notice) from your checking account to an in-app savings account. It also lets you set a savings goal amount to pay off a certain debt.
Wally
Wally is a bit more complicated compared to Mint or the other apps on this list, but it can work wonders if you’re truly dedicated to budgeting.
PocketGuard
PocketGuard goes one step further than the other apps in that it links to your financial accounts and lets you track and evaluate certain bills to find opportunities to save.
Pay More Than the Minimum
One of the most important things you can do to get out of debt faster is put more money toward your payments each and every month, or at least whenever you can.
Both the avalanche and the snowball methods of repayment utilize this strategy in different ways, so it’s important to understand that getting out of debt faster means paying more money now.
Rethink Credit
If you’re struggling to get out of debt, it’s a good idea to avoid taking on any new debt, including credit card debt.
If you tend to use your credit card on a regular basis, it’s a good idea to put your credit spending on hold until you’ve decreased or eliminated other debts.
Not only will this let you focus on paying down your debt, but it will also help to minimize your debt-to-income ratio and improve your credit score in the process.
Unbury Me: The Final Word
The Unbury Me Debt Calculator is a great tool if you’re getting serious about getting out of debt. It can help you to visualize your debt now and into the future and determine the best strategy to pay down your balances. And if you’ve never used a debt calculator before, Unbury.me is a good place to start, with its easy-to-use interface and intuitive results.
However, as with any and all online tools, logging in and entering your information is just the first step. The real progress in paying off your debt will come from your dedication and motivation to do so. If you’re prepared to start budgeting and putting more money toward debt repayment, and considering options like consolidating and/or refinancing, Unbury Me can help you decide where and when to make those changes.
