How to Build a Simple Debt-Payoff Tracker with Any AI Assistant

Gather your debts in one place

Grab a piece of paper, open your phone's notes app, or start a fresh document. Write down every debt you want to track, with four numbers beside each one — who, how much, what rate, minimum payment. Doing this first means you won't have to keep switching windows while the AI is working.

For buy-now-pay-later services like Afterpay, the "minimum payment" is whichever instalment is due this fortnight or month — Afterpay splits each purchase into four, so the amount due depends on where you are in the schedule. You can find it by opening the Afterpay app (it's on the home screen), checking your email or text reminders, or looking at your latest Afterpay statement. If you're partway through a payment plan, the minimum is whatever's due next.

If you'd rather speak than type, record a short voice memo where you say each debt out loud — the assistant can read that too. Just make sure the numbers are clear when you play it back.

You'll know it worked when you can see every debt on a single page, with the four numbers beside each one ready to paste into the chat.

Open your AI assistant and set the goal

Open whichever assistant you use and start a new chat. The chat box is usually a wide text area in the middle of the screen on a computer, or a small box at the bottom of the app on a phone. Tell the assistant what you want so it knows how to shape its answer.

If you can't find a new chat button, look for a + icon, "New chat" or pencil icon at the top or side of the screen — apps place it in slightly different spots. Most assistants also keep previous chats in a sidebar on the left.

You'll know it worked when the assistant replies acknowledging the task and either asks for your numbers or starts laying out a plan.

Send your debts and ask for a strategy

Paste your list of debts into the chat, then tell the assistant how much extra you can afford each month on top of the minimums. It uses these numbers to work out monthly interest, total interest paid and a realistic payoff date.

If the chat feels too long, start a fresh chat and re-send everything — assistants work conversation by conversation and don't carry memory between separate chats.

You'll know it worked when the assistant gives you a clear ranking — usually highest interest first (the avalanche method) or smallest balance first (the snowball method) — with a month count or date for each debt.

Ask for a spreadsheet you can copy

Now ask the assistant to format the plan as a table you can paste straight into a spreadsheet. The reply will switch into clean columns: debt name, starting balance, interest rate, monthly payment, months to payoff, and payoff date.

If the assistant replies in paragraphs instead of a table, simply ask: "Can you put that in a table I can copy?" — most assistants will change format on request. When you paste the table into Google Sheets starting at cell A1, the columns line up from left to right: A is the debt name, B is the starting balance, C is the interest rate, D is the monthly payment, E is the months to payoff, and F is the payoff date. Row 1 holds the headers.

You'll know it worked when the reply shows a neat table with believable dates — a $4,500 credit card with $300 extra per month should show roughly 14 to 18 months, not five years.

Add two formulas so the maths updates itself

Open Google Sheets (or Excel or Numbers), paste the table into cell A1, then add two simple formulas so the sheet recalculates when your balances change. This is the bit that turns the plan from a snapshot into a live tracker.

The first formula calculates monthly interest. Click into a free cell to the right of your table — H2 works well — and type =B2*C2/12. That means: take the value in B2 (the starting balance for debt 1), multiply it by the value in C2 (the interest rate for debt 1), then divide by 12 to get one month of interest in dollars. Copy that formula down to the rows below to get interest for each debt. The second formula is a totals row. In a new row below your last debt, type =SUM(B2:B5) to add up every starting balance — adjust the row numbers (B2:B5) if you have more or fewer debts.

If you've never used spreadsheet formulas, ask the assistant "Show me exactly what to type into each cell for Google Sheets" and paste its reply straight in. Cell references are similar across apps but vary slightly.

You'll know it worked when you change one balance number in column B and the totals in B6 update on their own without you typing anything else.

Schedule a monthly check-in and write yourself a note

Add a single row at the top of your sheet with the date you'll review it next month, and one honest line about what the AI did and didn't do. This turns the spreadsheet from a one-off exercise into a habit you can actually stick to.

If you'd prefer reminders outside the sheet, put the date in your phone calendar instead — the note is what matters, not where it lives.

You'll know it worked when you can open the sheet next month, see your progress at a glance, and remember which numbers need updating.