One paycheck, twice a month, and a weekend job. $7 left at the end of every month. This is how she got out — without cutting up her cards or living on rice and beans.
Denise works full time and waits tables on weekends. Her main job pays $1,450 on the 1st and the 15th, and she counts on $400 a month from the weekend. $3,300 in. Anything extra in tips she keeps outside her plan — for the haircut and the small personal things. She did not want her plan to depend on money that changes every week.
Her living expenses come to $2,417.99: rent, groceries, gas, the phone, the gym, a meal kit, streaming. Her six debts take $875 a month in minimum payments.
$3,300 in. $2,417.99 for living. $875 for the debts.
$7.01 left at the end of the month.
One thing she already did well: her rent is $1,150 and her first paycheck is $1,450. That paycheck could not carry everything until the 15th, so she splits the rent in two — $575 on the 1st and $575 on the 18th. It costs her $28.99 a month, and she never goes into overdraft.
The Cash Release Method ranks every debt by balance ÷ monthly payment — how many months until that payment comes back to you. The shortest goes first.
| Debt | Balance | Payment | Months to go |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal Loan | $1,300 | $210 | 6.2 |
| Medical Bill | $1,500 | $150 | 10.0 |
| Card 1 | $480 | $35 | 13.7 |
| Car Loan | $6,800 | $340 | 20.0 |
| Store Card | $1,100 | $44 | 25.0 |
| Card 2 | $2,400 | $96 | 25.0 |
| Total | $13,580 | $875 |
Two of her cards still had room. So a few bills moved onto them: electric, phone and internet onto Card 1 ($310), water, car insurance and gas onto Card 2 ($393). $703 a month that no longer left her checking account. The bills were still paid, on time, in full.
Her $7.01 became $710.01.
This is not a free trick. Those cards charged her interest the whole time — a card carrying your bills is still a debt. And one rule is never bent: a card never goes over its limit. In October, Card 2 reached $3,197.19 against a $3,500 limit. That is as close as it went. This is not set and forget — you watch every card, every month.
Cash Release September to November. Free up the cash, close the debts that give the most money back, soonest. The Personal Loan in October, the Medical Bill in November.
Snowball December. The room on her cards was running out, so the bills went back to checking. Holiday shifts brought in extra money, and the smallest balance went next — the Store Card. Three debts closed before New Year's: $404 a month back in her hands.
Avalanche January to September 2026. Highest interest first: Card 2, then Card 1, then the car loan. In February her $1,000 tax refund went straight onto Card 2.
Cash Release is the run-up. Snowball and Avalanche are the calm river. You do not stay in the wind forever.
What she sent on top of her minimum payments each month, where it went, and what she still owed at the end of the month. Every number comes straight from her spreadsheet.
| Month | Method | Extra to debt | Where it went | Closed | Owed at month end | Freed each month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2025 | Cash Release | $0.00 | Parked $710.01 in savings | — | $13,555.15 | — |
| October 2025 | Cash Release | $1,420.02 | Personal Loan $909.07 Card 2 $510.95 includes $710.01 back from savings | Personal Loan | $12,118.24 | $210 |
| November 2025 | Cash Release | $2,020.01 | Medical Bill $1,050.00 Car Loan $970.01 includes $1,100 holiday shifts & tips | Medical Bill | $10,277.89 | $360 |
| December 2025 | Snowball | $1,467.01 | Store Card $1,031.45 Card 1 $435.56 includes $1,100 holiday shifts & tips | Store Card | $8,441.71 | $404 |
| January 2026 | Avalanche | $411.01 | Card 2 $411.01 | — | $7,668.05 | $404 |
| February 2026 | Avalanche | $1,411.01 | Card 2 $1,411.01 includes $1,000 tax refund | — | $5,882.71 | $404 |
| March 2026 | Avalanche | $411.01 | Card 2 $411.01 | — | $5,064.65 | $404 |
| April 2026 | Avalanche | $411.01 | Card 2 $411.01 | — | $4,234.05 | $404 |
| May 2026 | Avalanche | $484.70 | Card 1 $484.70 | Card 2 | $3,390.69 | $500 |
| June 2026 | Avalanche | $507.01 | Card 1 $299.08 Car Loan $207.93 | Card 1 | $2,535.12 | $535 |
| July 2026 | Avalanche | $542.01 | Car Loan $542.01 | — | $1,669.80 | $535 |
| August 2026 | Avalanche | $542.01 | Car Loan $542.01 | — | $798.78 | $535 |
| September 2026 | Avalanche | $464.04 | Car Loan $464.04 | Car Loan | $0.00 | $875 |
In September the total barely moved: the loans went down, but the cards carrying her bills went up. That is the price of the room. "Freed each month" is the total of the minimum payments that no longer have to be paid.
| September 2025 | September 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Total debt | $13,580.00 | $0.00 |
| Monthly debt payments | $875.00 | $0.00 |
| Free cash each month | $7.01 | $882.01 |
She did not give up her gym, her groceries or her streaming. She moved some bills while there was room to move them, and she put her holiday shifts and her tax refund to work.
Every spreadsheet covers one year, January to December. Denise started in September 2025, so her plan lives in two files. The 2026 file starts exactly where 2025 ended — $8,441.71. Nothing lost between the two years.
Excel files. No email, nothing to pay. Want to start your own? Get the blank spreadsheet.
Names are changed. The numbers are real. I'm an accountant — not a CPA, and not a financial advisor. I do the math and show you the options. Every decision Denise made was hers. Every decision you make is yours.