Take Control of Your Debt With These Free Tools
Take Control of Your Debt With These Free Tools
利用这些免费工具掌控你的债务
Apps for budgeting and personal finance do a good job of tracking your money as you earn and spend it. Some also have excellent debt calculators that help you figure out how to pay off your debts. 预算和个人理财应用程序在追踪你的收入和支出方面表现出色。其中一些还配备了出色的债务计算器，可以帮助你规划如何偿还债务。
Each debt calculator is a little different. Some suggest a specific method for paying down debt, while others are simulators that let you see how your total amount paid will decrease if you increase your monthly payment. 每种债务计算器都有所不同。有些会建议特定的还债方法，而另一些则是模拟器，让你能够直观地看到如果增加每月还款额，总还款金额会如何减少。
Here are a few useful calculators and some guidance about what makes them different. 以下是一些实用的计算器，以及关于它们各自特点的指南。
A Straightforward Plan: Bankrate
直观的方案：Bankrate
Bankrate’s free debt payoff calculator gives you a timetable for paying off each of your debts. You enter as many debts as you want to include, their interest rates, total loan amounts, and other details. You also enter any new income you expect to receive, such as an annual salary increase or windfall, and the amount that you can put toward your debts. The calculator then generates one payment table for each debt showing how much to pay each month until the debt is cleared. Bankrate 的免费债务偿还计算器为你提供了一份偿还各项债务的时间表。你可以输入任意数量的债务，包括利率、贷款总额及其他详细信息。你还可以输入预期的额外收入（如年度加薪或意外之财），以及你每月能用于还债的金额。随后，该计算器会为每笔债务生成一张还款表，显示在债务结清前每月需支付的金额。
Bankrate prioritizes paying off the debt with the highest interest rate first. Once your first debt is paid off, the money you would have put toward it is diverted to your other monthly payments. In other words, as you eliminate debts, the monthly payments on your other debts increase until they, too, are paid off. Bankrate 优先偿还利率最高的债务。一旦第一笔债务还清，原本用于偿还该笔债务的资金就会被分配到其他债务的月供中。换句话说，随着你逐一消除债务，其他债务的月供会相应增加，直到全部还清。
Who should use it? Bankrate’s calculator works for people who have multiple debts, and the total monthly minimum payments are within their financial reach. If that’s you, then you’ll get a crystal clear plan—with a timeline—for getting rid of all your debts. 谁适合使用？Bankrate 的计算器适用于有多笔债务，且每月最低还款额在财务承受范围之内的人。如果你属于这种情况，你将获得一份清晰明了的还债计划，并附带明确的时间表。
Where it comes up short. This calculator assumes that paying off your debts by clearing the one with the highest interest rate first is in your best interest. That’s not true for everyone. You might have other options, such as consolidating credit card debt to a new card with a 0 percent introductory rate or filing for bankruptcy. Bankrate also doesn’t take into account other personal finance concerns, like other uses of monthly funds that free up once you pay off your first debt—Bankrate tells you to put that money toward your next-highest-interest debt. You might be better off putting it toward retirement savings or an emergency fund. 不足之处：该计算器假设优先偿还高利率债务对你最有利，但这并非对每个人都适用。你可能还有其他选择，例如将信用卡债务整合到一张具有 0% 初始利率的新卡中，或者申请破产。此外，Bankrate 没有考虑其他个人理财需求，比如在还清第一笔债务后释放出的月度资金——Bankrate 会建议你将其投入到利率次高的债务中，但你可能更需要将其用于退休储蓄或应急基金。
Big-Picture Guidance: NerdWallet
全局视角：NerdWallet
NerdWallet’s free debt load calculator determines your debt load as a percentage of your income. The resulting debt load is classified as smaller (less than 36 percent), larger (37–42), or overwhelming (43 percent or more). Based on the outcome, NerdWallet suggests a method for eliminating your debt, which you read about in an educational article below the results. NerdWallet 的免费债务负担计算器通过计算债务占收入的百分比来评估你的债务负担。计算结果将债务负担分为较小（低于 36%）、较大（37%–42%）或沉重（43% 或以上）。根据结果，NerdWallet 会建议一种消除债务的方法，你可以在结果下方的教育文章中阅读相关内容。
Who should use it? This calculator helps you get a big-picture sense of your debt. If you have a lot of debt, it’s useful for ruling out (or ruling in) the option of declaring bankruptcy. 谁适合使用？该计算器有助于你从全局角度审视自己的债务。如果你负债累累，它对于排除（或考虑）申请破产这一选项非常有用。
Where it comes up short. It’s not great at analyzing the finer details of your debt. For example, in the setup, there’s no line item for student loans or a mortgage, much less the exact interest rate you pay on loans. The results are a rough guide rather than a personalized strategy. 不足之处：它在分析债务细节方面表现一般。例如，在设置中没有学生贷款或抵押贷款的专门选项，更不用说贷款的具体利率了。其结果更像是一个粗略的指南，而非个性化的策略。
Automated Inputs: WalletHub
自动化输入：WalletHub
When you sign up for WalletHub (free) and connect your financial accounts, the app pulls real information about how much money you owe and your payment history. Its debt payoff plan is a calculator that lets you play with the numbers to see what would happen if you increased your monthly payment. How much faster can you clear the debt? How much will you save in interest? You can quickly see the difference between increasing your monthly payment by, say, $50 versus $150. 当你注册 WalletHub（免费）并关联财务账户后，该应用会自动获取你欠款金额和还款历史的真实信息。其债务偿还计划是一个计算器，允许你调整数字，查看如果增加每月还款额会产生什么影响。你能多快还清债务？能节省多少利息？你可以快速对比每月多还 50 美元与 150 美元之间的差异。
Who should use it? This calculator is for WalletHub users who have connected their financial accounts. It’s most useful for people who can afford to pay more than the monthly minimum on their debts. 谁适合使用？该计算器适用于已关联财务账户的 WalletHub 用户。对于那些有能力支付超过每月最低还款额的人来说，它最为实用。
Where it comes up short. Although WalletHub pulls real information about your actual loans, it can miss some detail. I use it to track my mortgage, for example, and it doesn’t know that the total bill I pay each month includes homeowner’s insurance. The calculations regarding the principal and interest are still correct, but the amount that comes out of my pocket is higher than what WalletHub assumes. Other considerations are missing, too, like what to do when the rate of inflation is higher than the interest rate on a long-term loan. Overall, this debt calculator is very good, and these shortcomings are nitpicks, not deal-breakers. 不足之处：尽管 WalletHub 获取了你贷款的真实信息，但可能会遗漏一些细节。例如，我用它来追踪我的抵押贷款，但它不知道我每月支付的总账单中包含了房主保险。关于本金和利息的计算虽然准确，但我实际支出的金额比 WalletHub 假设的要高。此外，它还缺少其他考量，比如当通货膨胀率高于长期贷款利率时该怎么办。总的来说，这个债务计算器非常好，这些缺点只是吹毛求疵，并不影响其核心功能。
Credit Card Transfers: WalletHub and NerdWallet
信用卡余额转账：WalletHub 和 NerdWallet
If you’re carrying credit card debt, WalletHub and NerdWallet both have a calculator that shows how much money you could save by transferring the balance to a new card with an introductory rate. (CreditKarma has a balance transfer calculator, too, though I was unable to test it; it had no recommendations for me.) You need to know the details of your current card as well as those of the new card, including the introductory rate, how long that rate is active, and the interest rate after that. 如果你背负着信用卡债务，WalletHub 和 NerdWallet 都提供了计算器，可以显示通过将余额转账到具有初始优惠利率的新卡上，你能节省多少钱。（CreditKarma 也有余额转账计算器，但我无法测试，因为它没有给我提供任何推荐。）你需要了解当前信用卡以及新卡的详细信息，包括初始利率、优惠期时长以及优惠期后的利率。
All these free personal-finance tools—CreditKarma, NerdWallet, WalletHub—make money when you click through to apply for a financial product that they recommend. Here, targeted advertising is very much in your interest. These sites and apps recommend credit cards with 0 percent or very low introductory rates for balance transfers, right on the same page as the calculator. The sites have user reviews for the advertised cards as well, which may help steer you clear of one with bad hidden terms or poor customer service. 所有这些免费的个人理财工具（CreditKarma、NerdWallet、WalletHub）都是通过你点击并申请它们推荐的金融产品来获利的。在这种情况下，精准广告实际上符合你的利益。这些网站和应用程序会在计算器页面直接推荐适合余额转账的 0% 或极低初始利率的信用卡。这些网站还提供用户对所推荐信用卡的评价，这有助于你避开那些隐藏条款恶劣或客户服务糟糕的信用卡。
Who should use it? Most anyone with credit card debt could benefit from transferring the balance to a new card with a lower interest rate. You might want to use a credit score simulator (another interactive tool in these apps) to determine how applying for a new credit card might affect your credit score. 谁适合使用？大多数背负信用卡债务的人都可以通过将余额转账到利率更低的新卡中获益。你可能还想使用信用评分模拟器（这些应用中的另一个交互工具）来评估申请新信用卡对你信用评分的影响。
Where it comes up short. These calculators only deal with credit card debt and not other loans. Be sure to compare the rates of interest not only during the introductory period… 不足之处：这些计算器仅处理信用卡债务，不涉及其他贷款。请务必不仅要比较初始优惠期的利率……