DebtFree Pro — Complete User Guide

1. Overview

DebtFree Pro is a Level 3 debt tracker built around a synchronized debt portfolio. Its main areas are Dashboard, Debt Portfolio, Payment History, Payoff Strategy, Payoff Schedule, Reports and Settings. The header also provides Add Debt, Record Payment and Light/Dark theme controls.

The source identifies the application as “DebtFree Pro — Level 3 Debt Tracker — PaxmaHub.”

2. Interface & Navigation

The source navigation explicitly exposes these seven tabs. The header also includes Add Debt, Record Payment and theme toggle controls.

3. Getting Started

Step 1 — Review the starting data

The supplied application contains sample debt accounts by default. If you are using the demo state, replace them with your own accounts or reset the data before starting your real tracking.

Step 2 — Set your currency

Open Settings and choose USD, EUR, GBP, PKR, AED, CAD or AUD.

Step 3 — Enter monthly income

Monthly income is used for the Dashboard's DTI Health calculation and is also available in the Payoff Strategy controls.

Step 4 — Add your debt accounts

For every account, enter the current balance, original balance, APR, minimum monthly payment, due day and debt type.

Step 5 — Record real payments

Use Record Payment after making a debt payment. Do not manually change the balance as a substitute for recording payments; the application recalculates balances from the original balance and recorded payment records.

4. Dashboard

Debt Payoff Journey banner

The top banner shows a milestone badge, a motivational message, an estimated Debt-Free Date and DTI Health.

Main KPIs

Overall Payoff Progress

A progress bar shows cumulative repayment relative to the original debt portfolio. The dashboard also displays the paid and remaining amounts.

Debt-free estimate

The estimated date comes from the current payoff simulation using the selected strategy, monthly extra payment and one-time extra payment.

DTI Health

If monthly income is entered, the app calculates monthly minimum debt payments divided by monthly income. The displayed labels are:

• 20% or less — Good
• Above 20% through 36% — Watch
• Above 36% — High

If monthly income is zero or not set, DTI displays “Not set.”

Upcoming Payments — Next 30 Days

Active debts are ordered by their next due date. The table shows debt, due date, minimum payment and status, with a Pay action for quick payment entry.

Recent Activity

The activity feed records actions such as adding, editing, deleting and recording payments. Up to 100 activities are retained, while the dashboard displays the most recent 20.

5. Debt Portfolio

Debt Portfolio is the central account-management screen. Each debt appears as a card with balance, minimum payment, original balance, due day, APR, type and payoff progress.

Adding a debt

Click Add Debt. The form contains:

Validation

The form requires a name and non-negative numeric values. Current balance cannot exceed original balance, and the due day must be between 1 and 31.

Search, filtering and sorting

• Search by debt/provider name.
• Filter Active or Paid Off.
• Filter by debt type.
• Sort by balance, APR, due day or name.

Edit and delete

Edit changes the debt's account details. Delete removes the debt and all payment records linked to it after confirmation.

6. Payment History

Payment History treats every debt payment as an independent record. The application then recalculates the linked debt balance from those records.

Recording a payment

Click Record Payment and select:

• Target Debt
• Payment Amount
• Payment Date
• Allocation Type

Allocation types

Payment rules

A normal payment cannot exceed the current balance. A Full Settlement payment is allowed to represent a payoff. Recorded amounts are normalized against the current balance.

Filtering

Search by debt name, filter by payment type and optionally specify a From and To date.

Edit/Delete

Editing or deleting a payment causes the linked debt balance and dependent summaries to be recalculated.

7. Payoff Strategy

The Payoff Strategy screen compares two standard ordering methods using the application's current balances, APRs and minimum payments.

Avalanche

Prioritizes the debt with the highest APR. In the application's comparison, Avalanche is described as generally minimizing modeled interest.

Snowball

Prioritizes the debt with the lowest balance. This creates faster balance wins and can provide a psychological progress effect.

Strategy controls

Strategy output

• Estimated Months
• Estimated Interest
• Debt-Free Date
• Monthly Payment Pool
• Priority Order
• Avalanche vs Snowball comparison

8. Payoff Schedule

The Payoff Schedule provides a month-by-month modeled amortization table under the selected strategy.

The screen includes a Print button, allowing the browser print dialog to be used for a paper copy or PDF.

9. Reports

The Reports section combines portfolio-level data and the selected payoff plan.

Top summary cards

• Original Debt
• Current Debt
• Recorded Payments
• Progress percentage

Portfolio Report

The report table lists Debt, Type, Original Balance, Current Balance, APR and Minimum Payment.

Selected Payoff Plan

The report summarizes the current strategy, estimated months, modeled interest and estimated debt-free date.

Export options

• CSV: Exports the debt portfolio with debt name, type, original balance, current balance, APR, minimum payment, due day and status.
• Print / PDF: Opens the browser print flow. Choose “Save as PDF” in the browser if a PDF file is desired.

10. Settings & Data

Preferences

Choose one of the supported currencies: USD, EUR, GBP, PKR, AED, CAD or AUD.

Enter Monthly Income for DTI calculations. The interface also provides a Light/Dark theme toggle.

Backup & Restore

• Export JSON: Downloads the complete local dataset.
• Import JSON: Reads a backup file, validates/normalizes it and replaces the current dataset if valid.
• Reset All Data: Restores the application's default state after confirmation.

11. How the Calculations Work

Current debt

The current portfolio debt is the sum of each debt's current balance.

Recorded payments

For each debt, the application calculates payments linked to that debt and sets its balance to the original balance minus those recorded payments, never below zero.

Progress

Overall progress is based on recorded payments relative to total original balances, capped at 100% for display.

Minimum payment pool

The monthly minimum is the sum of minimum payments for active debts, with each minimum effectively limited by the current balance during simulation.

Interest simulation

Each modeled month applies the debt's APR as a monthly rate: balance × APR ÷ 12. The simulator then applies minimum payments and directs remaining available payment capacity according to the selected Avalanche or Snowball order.

Simulation horizon

The payoff simulator is bounded at 600 months. If payments cannot reduce the balance, the simulation can stop rather than producing an infinite calculation.

DTI Health

When monthly income is greater than zero, DTI is calculated as active monthly minimum payments divided by monthly income × 100.

12. Recommended Workflow

Initial setup

1. Set currency.
2. Enter monthly income.
3. Add every active debt.
4. Verify balance, APR, minimum payment and due day.
5. Review Dashboard totals.
6. Open Payoff Strategy and compare Avalanche vs Snowball.
7. Enter a realistic extra monthly amount if available.
8. Review the modeled Payoff Schedule.
9. Export a JSON backup.

After every payment

1. Open Record Payment.
2. Select the correct debt.
3. Enter the actual payment amount and date.
4. Select the appropriate allocation type.
5. Save.
6. Check the updated debt balance.

Weekly review

1. Check Upcoming Payments.
2. Review Payment History for accuracy.
3. Check Dashboard progress.
4. Review the payoff strategy if your available extra payment changed.

Monthly review

1. Confirm every month's payments were recorded.
2. Review current debt and progress.
3. Compare payoff strategies.
4. Review the payoff schedule.
5. Export a fresh JSON backup.

13. Backup & Restore

The application uses browser localStorage with the key debtfree_pro_level3_v1. This means the working dataset is stored in the browser rather than a remote account.

Why backup matters

• Browser data can be cleared.
• Different browser profiles can have separate storage.
• Changing devices does not automatically transfer the dataset.
• Reset All Data intentionally replaces the current state.

Safe backup routine

Use Settings → Export JSON after initial setup and regularly after significant payment updates. Keep the JSON file somewhere safe.

Restoring

Use Import JSON and select a valid backup. The application validates and normalizes the imported structure before replacing the current dataset. If the file is invalid, the current data is not changed.

14. FAQ & Troubleshooting

Why does my debt balance change after editing a payment?

This is intentional. The balance is recalculated from the original balance and the payment records linked to that debt.

Why can't I enter a payment larger than the balance?

Normal payment types are prevented from exceeding the current balance. Use Full Settlement for a payoff scenario.

Why is DTI showing “Not set”?

Monthly income is zero or has not been entered in Settings.

Why does my payoff date change when I add an extra payment?

The simulation recalculates using the new extra-payment amount, so the modeled payoff duration and interest can change.

What happens if I delete a debt?

The debt is deleted together with all linked payment records after confirmation.

Can I use PKR?

Yes. PKR is one of the currency options in Settings.

Can I print the payoff schedule?

Yes. Use the Print button and then use the browser's print dialog to print or save as PDF.

Is the payoff forecast guaranteed?

No. It is an application-generated estimate based on the stored portfolio and the simulator's assumptions. Actual lender calculations, fees, rate changes or account-specific rules are outside the supplied application's data model.

15. Quick Reference

Source Scope

This guide is based on the supplied debt-tracker.html implementation. The file identifies the product as DebtFree Pro — Level 3 Debt Tracker — PaxmaHub and exposes the seven main navigation sections used throughout this guide.

Where the guide discusses calculations, validation, local storage, simulation limits or data behavior, it follows the implemented HTML/JavaScript rather than adding unsupported external functionality.