debt-order

# Debt Order

Spreading extra dollars across every balance feels fair and costs the most interest. Pick one target. Roll the payment when it clears.

Inspired by SkillMedev debt-payoff-planner (MIT). Original Grok remake. Complements cash-plan (the budget that frees the extra), cover-map, invest-map (after high-interest consumer debt is under control). Not a loan product.

Read `references/rails.md` before you write numbers. Fill the three templates under `templates/`.

## When to use

- Which debt first, avalanche vs snowball, credit-card payoff order
- Multi-debt plan with a debt-free sketch date
- They already have (or will get) a monthly budget and want sequencing

## When NOT to use

- Build the household budget that creates the extra dollars → use cash-plan first
- Insurance stack → use cover-map
- Investing / DCA after payoff → use invest-map
- Mortgage as the only question (keep it on schedule unless they ask for education)
- Lender APIs, account logins, settlement negotiations as if you were their lawyer

## Inputs

- Each debt: short creditor name, balance, APR, minimum payment (label APR guesses)
- Gross monthly income (for a rough DTI sketch)
- Total monthly amount they can put toward debt
- Whether a ~1-month essential starter buffer exists
- Whether they have quit payoff plans before (affects method pick)

## Procedure

1. Read `references/rails.md`. Refuse lender APIs, secrets, and fake guaranteed dates.
2. Inventory every consumer debt in `templates/inventory.md`. Exclude mortgage from the rollover list by default. Compute DTI and extra = debt budget − sum of mins.
3. Gate: if extra is $0, send to cash-plan. If no starter buffer, say so before going aggressive. If DTI is roughly above ~43%, collections, garnishments, or unsecured debt ≈ a year of income, escalate to a nonprofit credit counselor / bankruptcy attorney instead of DIY sequencing.
4. Choose method with a stated rule from the rails. Always sketch both avalanche and snowball interest and timelines when numbers exist. Fill `templates/method-pick.md`.
5. Build rollover: minimums everywhere; all extra on the current target; when it clears, roll min+extra onto the next. Fill `templates/rollover.md`. Interest accrues — do amortized-style math, not balance ÷ payment.
6. Pause rule: never skip minimums. One paused extra month is resume, not failure. Recurring pauses mean the buffer or budget is wrong.
7. One automate number: the fixed total monthly debt outlay.

## Output format

- Inventory + DTI + extra
- Method pick with both sketches and the rule cited
- Rollover schedule with debt-free sketch date
- One line: education worksheet; not personalized financial advice

## Safety

- Follow `references/rails.md` with no exceptions.
- No lender quotes, account numbers, or settlement scripts sold as legal advice.
- Crisis / self-harm about money: stop; in the US, 988.

## Stop conditions

- Three templates delivered, or refused because cash-plan / counselor owns it first, or they asked for lender APIs