You've downloaded DebtBoss (or you're deciding whether to). Here's how to go from a pile of statements to a payoff plan with monsters in it — and how to set yourself up so you're still swinging in month eight.

Step 1: Gather your real numbers

Before the fun part, get accurate inputs. For each debt you want to track, find the current balance, the interest rate (APR), the minimum payment, and the due date — they're on your latest statement or in your lender's app. If a debt has a promotional 0% rate that expires, note the end date too; DebtBoss can take that into account.

Two minutes per debt, and it's the only tedious step in the whole system. DebtBoss never connects to your bank, so what you enter is what the app knows — accurate inputs mean honest projections.

Step 2: Spawn your monsters

Enter each debt and it becomes a monster with an HP bar sized to what you owe. Give them nicknames — "The Overdraft Ogre," "Carasaurus," whatever makes you smirk. One privacy tip from our own privacy policy: if you use the AI features, your debt nicknames are part of what the AI sees, so keep personal details (full account names, people's names) out of them.

Not ready to make an account? Guest mode runs entirely on your device — you can set everything up and decide later whether to sync.

Step 3: Choose your battle order

This is the big strategic decision, and DebtBoss shows you the consequences of each option with your actual numbers:

  • Snowball — smallest balance first. Fastest first victory, best for momentum.
  • Avalanche — highest interest rate first. Cheapest overall, best for the maths.
  • Custom — your order, your reasons. Real life has debts with emotional weight no algorithm understands.

Compare the projected debt-free dates and estimated interest for each before committing. If you're torn, we've written a full comparison — the short version is that the method you'll stick with beats the method that's optimal on paper.

Step 4: Land your first hit

Make a real payment to your lender as usual — DebtBoss never moves money — then log it in the app. The monster's HP drops, you earn XP, and your projections update. That loop — pay, log, watch the damage — is the entire engine of the app, and it takes seconds.

If you can manage anything beyond the minimums, even £20, log it and watch what it does to your debt-free date. That's the moment the plan usually stops being theoretical.

Step 5: Set up your support systems

A few one-time settings that pay off for years:

  • Write your motivation note. One sentence on why you're doing this. It'll be there on the hard days.
  • Turn on the reminders you want — payment due dates, quest alerts. They're opt-in, and you can silence them anytime in Settings.
  • Check your quests weekly. They're sized to be completable — the point is a steady drumbeat of wins between the big ones.
  • Plan your boosts. Expecting a bonus or tax refund? Add it as a planned one-time boost and see the impact on your timeline before it even arrives.

Step 6: When you wobble (you will)

A missed check-in or a lean month doesn't end the run — it's a data point. Log what you can, let the streak restart if it must, and keep the monsters in view. And if things are genuinely tighter than an app can help with — if minimums themselves are the problem — free, non-judgemental advice from StepChange, National Debtline, MoneyHelper, or Citizens Advice is the right next step. DebtBoss is a motivation tool, and it's honest about that line.

Your first victory

Stick with it and the day comes: a monster's HP hits zero, and a debt is defeated — not "paid off," defeated. Then its payment rolls into the next fight, and the next monster falls faster than the first.

Your first monster takes about two minutes to spawn. DebtBoss is on the App Store — go land the first hit.