Debt Payoff Planning

Debt payoff planning in Common Cents starts on the account detail view. Once a debt account exists, the app gives you debt-specific action buttons so you can record payments correctly instead of forcing everything through the ordinary transfer flow.

Open the debt account detail view #

From Accounts Overview, open the debt account you want to work with. The detail view shows:

• ← Back to All Accounts
• Jump To Account
• the Account Overview card
• the Account Transactions section

For revolving debt accounts, the overview can also show Payment Category Available so you can compare your payment reserve against the debt account balance.

Use the debt-specific action buttons #

At the top of Account Transactions, Common Cents shows different buttons depending on the account type:

• Pay Card for revolving debt accounts
• Pay Loan for installment loans and mortgages
• Apply Interest for installment loans

If the account is closed, those buttons stay visible but are disabled until you reopen the account.

Record a credit card payment with Pay Card #

Use Pay Card for revolving debt payments.

The form includes:

• From Account
• Card Account
• Date
• Amount
• Payee (Optional)
• Note (Optional)

Important details:

• the source account must be an active transaction or saving account
• the card account must be an active revolving debt account
• if you edit an existing payment, the save button becomes Save Payment and the form adds Delete
• deleting the payment removes both sides of the linked payment pair

Record a loan or mortgage payment with Pay Loan #

Use Pay Loan for installment loans and mortgages.

The form includes:

• From Account
• Loan / Mortgage Account
• Payment Category
• Date
• Amount
• Payee
• Note (Optional)

Mortgage accounts add one more field:

• Principal

When you enter Principal for a mortgage, the form shows Interest + Escrow as helper text so you can see how much of the payment is not reducing principal.

If the loan account has a Default Payment Category, Common Cents can prefill the payment category for you.

Know when strict mode steps in #

If budgeting and strict mode are on, a loan payment can trigger Strict Mode: Cover Overspending before the payment is saved. That happens when the selected payment category needs coverage first.

In that case, Common Cents asks you to choose where the coverage should come from before it records the loan payment.

When you confirm that coverage, Common Cents applies the category funding first and then saves the loan payment in the same flow.

That means the payment is recorded against the already-covered payment category instead of saving first and leaving the category short.

Apply interest for installment loans #

Use Apply Interest for installment loans when you need to post an interest transaction.

The form includes:

• Loan Account
• Month
• Recalculate Proposal
• Interest Date
• Interest Amount
• Payee (Optional)
• Note (Optional)

When a proposal is available, the form also shows:

• Principal
• APR
• Proposed Interest

If the loan is set to manual interest mode, the form shows a reminder that you should use this workflow whenever you want to post interest.

Do not use ordinary transfer entry for debt payments #

Common Cents now blocks debt accounts in the standard transfer form.

If you try to use Add Transfer with a debt account, you will see a warning that says debt accounts require Pay Card / Pay Loan flows.

That guardrail helps keep debt payments in the workflows that create the right linked records.

Watch for Pay Loan conversion prompts #

When you are entering a normal transaction and choose a category that is the default payment category for a loan, Common Cents can ask Convert to Pay Loan?

If more than one loan matches that payment category, the app opens Choose Loan Account and gives you a Use Pay Loan button.

What payoff planning really means here #

In Common Cents, payoff planning is less about a separate payoff wizard and more about using the right debt tools consistently:

• choose the correct debt behavior at setup
• use the payment category for budget planning when a debt type supports it
• record payments with Pay Card or Pay Loan
• apply loan interest with Apply Interest when needed
• watch the debt account balance and, for revolving debt, the payment category reserve together

See also: Debt Account Types, Revolving Debt Transactions, Make a Debt Payment, and Budgeting Overview