Updated
Apr 07, 2020 The website unbury.me is a simple loan calculator designed to help consumers pay off their debts. It launched in 2011 and underwent a massive redesign in 2016. It was created to make debt management easier for consumers.
Since unbury.me is unique, we should take a look at its features before diving in. Let’s get the scoop on this debt management tool.
How Unbury.me Works
The site has an intuitive interface. Consumers simply go to the homepage and enter loan information.
When adding a loan, they include:
- Loan Name
- Principal Remaining
- Interest Rate
- Monthly Minimum Payment
Once loan information is added into the system, consumers can view their debt on the dashboard. They see the:
- Principal Paid
- Interest Paid
- Average Interest Rate
- Pay-Off Date
Consumers also view a graph that illustrates the principal, interest, monthly payments, and percent that goes toward the principal.
How it Helps Pay Down Debts
Viewing debt data is a good way to help people pay down debts, but unbury.me goes a step further by also including information about payment plans. This helps people come up with plans to get out of debt faster.
Users choose between the avalanche and the snowball payment method, and they select the amount of money they will put toward a monthly payment. Then they see how that can impact the amount of interest they’ll pay. They’ll also find out how soon they’ll pay the debt off using the payment method of choice.
It’s a good idea to understand these two payment options before using the tool.
The avalanche payment method is also known as debt stacking. Consumers pay off the debt with the highest interest rate first when using this method.
Assume a consumer has three credit cards. One has an APR of 19.5 percent, one has an APR of 13 percent, and one has an APR of 9.8 percent.
Using the debt avalanche method, the consumer would put all excess money toward the credit card with a 19.5 percent interest rate first. He or she would make minimum monthly payments on the other two cards.
When that credit card is paid off, the consumer moves to the credit card with the 13 percent interest rate. Then, he or she pays off the third card once the second card is paid off.
This method lowers the amount of interest the person pays over the course of the loans.
The debt snowball method is the other option. Instead of prioritizing the debt based on interest rates, the debt is prioritized based on balance amount. Consumers tackle the smallest loan first and then move to the next one until all the debt is paid off.
For example, if a consumer has credit cards with balances of $400, $5,000, and $10,000, he or she will pay off the $400 balance first. The consumer will make minimum payments on the other cards while putting all additional money on the smallest one.
When that is paid off, the consumer will put all excess money on the card with the $5,000 balance. Then, he or she will finally pay off the card with the $10,000 balance.
Consumers pay more interest with this method, but they also get to enjoy small victories every time a credit card is paid off. Those small victories are supposed to provide psychological benefits to the consumer because it helps them feel like they are making progress on their debts faster.
Consumers are encouraged to put in details for both methods and analyze the information. They will see how much interest they’ll pay over the course of the loans and when the debt will be paid off when they use the tool.
Benefits of Unbury.me
Visual people will likely believe unbury.me is an excellent tool. People can quickly and easily see how changing their payment amounts and strategies impacts the amount of money they’ll pay overall.
It’s also easy to enter and save the payment information. Meaning people can keep track of more than one loan at a time.
Finally, it helps people understand how their actions impact the amount of interest they pay over time. Anyone who wants to pay less in interest can benefit from this tool. They can play around with it to find the best option for their needs.
Costs
Financial tools can be expensive, but unbury.me is free to use, and there is no indication that will change in the future. At the same time, the creator invites feedback to make the tool even better for users. That means people can get more features without paying a thing.
The Bottom Line
People who want an easy-to-use payment calculator can benefit from unbury.me. It might not have as many features as some of the more robust calculators out there, but it’s easy to use so people don’t have to worry about making mistakes.
Anyone who wants an easy-to-use, highly visual tool will benefit from unbury.me. Plus it’s free, so consumers can try it out and see if it’s a good fit.