Run the numbers no statement shows you.
Two paths for the same debt. One follows the minimum payment schedule your card is built around. One adds a fixed extra amount every month. The gap is the whole story.
Assumptions: minimum payment modeled as interest plus 1% of balance with a $10 floor, a common Canadian card formula. Your plan holds the first month's minimum plus your extra as a fixed payment. Interest compounds monthly at APR ÷ 12. Educational math only, not financial advice. Full multi-debt comparison lives in the Debt Destroyer Calculator.
What the system is designed to do
Minimum payment structures in Canadian consumer credit are typically designed to meet regulatory minimums while maximizing revolving balance, the source of interest revenue. The system is not designed around you getting out of debt. It's designed around you staying in it at a comfortable monthly cost.
Credit card pricing in Canada is built around the assumption that most cardholders carry a balance. The pricing model rewards revolving debt, not transaction volume. Understanding this changes how you make every decision about debt.
Based on years of operational experience in Canadian banking and wealth management. No confidential data, no employer named. System-level education only.
Five steps. Real CAD numbers. No vague advice.
Write down balance, interest rate, and minimum payment for every debt in CAD. No estimates. Get the actual statements. This usually takes under 20 minutes.
✓ One list with real numbers in front of youAvalanche (highest rate first) always pays the least interest. Snowball (smallest balance first) builds momentum. Pick one based on your situation. Both beat minimum payments.
✓ One strategy chosen, first target identifiedEven $200/month extra on a $20,000 balance at 19.99% eliminates years of payments and thousands in interest. Run the numbers using the Debt Destroyer Calculator.
✓ A specific extra monthly amount committedSet the extra payment to auto-transfer on payday, not whenever it's convenient. This one step separates people who finish from people who don't.
✓ Automation set up before you close this tabWhen debt one is cleared, roll its full monthly payment into debt two. Your monthly cash outflow stays the same. Your payoff speed accelerates dramatically.
✓ First debt cleared, payment rolled to nextSame debt. Two endings.
Dana, 29, Mississauga. She's carrying $32,000 across two credit cards at 19.99% APR, paying a fixed $640 a month. On that path she spends just over nine years getting out. Holding $1,040 a month instead, the same $640 plus an extra $400, ends it in under four:
Illustrative scenario, not a real individual. Figures use monthly compounding at APR ÷ 12 and standard amortization, recalculated July 2026. Educational purposes only, not a guarantee of outcome.
Debt strategy, start to finish
You don't need a perfect plan. You need a plan that starts today.
The hardest part is the first 90 days. After that, the momentum builds itself. Every guide on WillStreet is designed to get you one step further in under 15 minutes, with no account required and no upsell before you get value.