How to use Planly Debt Countdown

Your template lives in your own Google Drive, so the first step is making your personal copy.

1. Open the PDF from your Etsy purchase (Etsy → You → Purchases and reviews → Download files).
2. Click the “Make my copy” button. If you're asked, sign in to your Google account.
3. Google shows a “Copy document” screen. Click the blue “Make a copy” button.
4. Your copy opens. Rename it if you like (click the title in the top-left), e.g. “Our Debt Countdown”.

STEP 1 and STEP 2 on SETUP tell the plan which currency to show and which month it starts from.

1. Open the SETUP tab.
2. Under STEP 1 – CURRENCY, type your currency symbol (for example $, €, or £). Every amount on the dashboard uses it.
3. Under STEP 2 – START DATE, type the year, then pick the month from the dropdown below it.
4. Choose the month your debt balances are from, usually this month or last month, matching the statements you're using.

STEP 3 – DEBT METHOD decides which debt gets your extra money first. A short explanation of the method you pick appears right below the dropdown.

1. Click the cell under DEBT METHOD and open the dropdown.
2. Debt Snowball: pays the smallest balance first. Quick wins keep you motivated, and each paid-off payment rolls into the next debt.
3. Debt Avalanche: pays the highest interest rate first. This usually costs the least interest overall.
4. Custom: pays debts in the order you list them in STEP 5, so you decide the priority.

STEP 4 and STEP 5 are the heart of the plan: what you can pay on top of the minimums, and every debt you owe.

1. Under STEP 4 – MONTHLY EXTRA PAYMENT, enter the amount you can add each month on top of all your minimum payments (enter 0 if none for now).
2. Under STEP 5 – ENTER YOUR DEBTS, fill one row per debt: DEBT NAME (e.g. “Visa”, “Car loan”).
3. Enter its INITIAL BALANCE as of the start date you chose.
4. Enter its INTEREST RATE (the APR from your statement) and its MIN PAYMENT.
5. Repeat for each debt (there's room for 25). The TOTAL row adds up your balances and minimum payments.

Planly Debt Countdown · Setup

Open DEBT DASHBOARD. You never type here. It turns your SETUP answers into a complete payoff plan.

1. Overview: your Current Balance, plus Monthly extra payment, Min payment, Total monthly payment and Total interest owed.
2. Debt cards: to the right of the overview, each debt gets its own card with its Debt Free Date, Initial balance, Min. Payment, Interest rate and Interest owed.
3. Summary: INITIAL BALANCE, MONTHLY PAYMENT and DEBT PAID OFF ON: the month your last debt is gone.
4. Debt table: every debt with its INITIAL BALANCE, INTEREST RATE, MIN. PAYMENT, INTEREST OWED and MONTHS LEFT.
5. Schedule: month by month, your total BALANCE and the +/- change, followed by the PAYMENT, INTEREST and BALANCE for each debt.

Planly Debt Countdown · Debt dashboard

The dashboard is a plan, so it stays accurate when your SETUP numbers match real life.

1. Make your payments as planned: the minimum on every debt, plus your extra payment on the debt your method targets.
2. Once a month, compare the schedule's BALANCE for each debt with your statements.
3. If you paid more or less than planned, or a rate changed, update that debt's INITIAL BALANCE or INTEREST RATE on SETUP, and move the START DATE to match the new statement month.
4. Got a raise or a windfall? Increase the MONTHLY EXTRA PAYMENT and watch DEBT PAID OFF ON move closer.
5. When a debt is paid off, celebrate. Its freed-up payment rolls into the next debt in your plan.