How this site is researched, reviewed, and corrected.
Last updated: 2 November 2026.
Every calculator and guide on TheDebtPayoff starts from official sources, not from other blogs or marketing copy. For US household debt figures we use the Federal Reserve Bank of New York Household Debt and Credit Report and the Federal Reserve G.19 statistical release on consumer credit. For payoff formulas we use standard amortization math and the minimum payment formulas required under the CARD Act. When a number on this site comes from a specific dataset, the page says so.
Sources are cited on every calculator page, next to the numbers they support. We link to the primary source wherever possible: the Federal Reserve, the US Department of Labor, the IRS. We do not cite press articles about data when the data itself is public, and we never publish a figure we cannot trace to its origin.
Every calculator engine is tested against independently computed figures before it is published. Every guide is read end to end for math errors, stale figures, and claims that outrun the evidence. Figures tied to official releases are rechecked when new releases come out. There is no editorial team and no sponsored content, so nothing here is shaped by an advertiser.
If you find an error, tell us. Confirmed math errors are fixed fast and openly. If a correction changes a published result in a meaningful way, we note what changed on the page. Reader corrections are one of the most reliable quality controls a small independent site has, and we treat them that way.
No sponsored placements, no paid rankings, no product recommendations bought by lenders. Mentions of general product types, like balance transfer cards, are educational and never endorsements of a specific brand. This site earns nothing from financial companies. That is deliberate: the day revenue depends on a lender is the day the math stops being honest.