Setup

These tutorials describe the general process of setting up your debt snowball in Pay Off Debt on the iPad or iPad Mini.

Quick Setup – Getting Started

Setting Up the Debt Snowball

  1. Tap the gear icon in the upper left corner of the app to open the Settings popover.

  2. Tap the Configure Snowball option on the Settings popover.

    You will be taken to the Configure Snowball popover.

  3. If you want to turn the snowball option off, tap Snowball and then tap Off. Otherwise, skip this step and the snowball will remain on by default.

  4. Tap Additional Amount.

    A keyboard will appear.

  5. Enter the additional amount that you intend to send to the first debt in your list each month.

    Note: This is the amount in addition to your minimum payment. If you will not be sending an additional amount, leave it set to zero. You can change this later at any time.

  6. Tap Done.

  7. Tap Sort Debts by to choose the order for your snowball.

  8. Tap the desired option (Lowest Balance, Highest Interest Rate, or Custom Order.)

    Note: If you choose Custom Order, after you have entered your debts you’ll need to return to Settings > Configure Snowball > Sort Debts to arrange them in the desired order by tapping, holding & dragging the edge of the debts.

  9. Tap the back arrow on the Configure Snowball popover.

    You will return to the Settings popover.

  10. Tap the Debts screen

    The Settings popover will close.

Adding Debts

  1. Tap the Add Debt (+ icon in the top right corner of the app) on the Debts screen to begin adding your debts.

    You will be taken to the Add Debt popover.

  2. Tap the Name field and type in the name of your debt.

  3. Tap the Type option and choose the type of debt.

    (This sets the icon that will be associated with the debt. If you select the Mortgage/HELOC type, it will also add an additional field to the Debts screen.)

  4. Tap the Amount Owed field and enter the starting balance for the debt.

    Both the Amount Owed and the Current Balance fields will be filled in.

  5. If your current balance is already lower than your starting Amount Owed, tap the Current Balance field and enter the amount you currently owe on the debt.

    (The amount in this field will automatically change later as you record payments to the debt.)

  6. Tap the Interest Rate (APR) field and enter the interest rate for the debt.

  7. Tap the Due Date field and enter the date of the month when the debt is due.

    (For example, if your debt is due on the 1st, enter 1. If it’s due on the 18th, enter 18.)

  8. Tap the Minimum Monthly Payment field and enter the amount of your minimum monthly payment.

  9. If the debt is not a Mortgage/HELOC type debt, skip this step. Otherwise, tap the Amount of Minimum Monthly Payment that Goes to Escrow field and enter the amount of your minimum monthly payment that goes to escrow.

    (For example, if your mortgage payment is $1200, but $200 is set aside for escrow by your mortgage company, you would enter $200 here. If you don’t have escrow taken out, enter 0.)

  10. Tap the Notes field if you want to add any notes about the debt.

  11. Tap Save.

    You will be taken to the Debts screen, and the debt will appear in the listing.

  12. If you have additional debts to enter, tap the Settings icon on the Debts screen and repeat steps 1-11 for each debt.

  13. If you have chosen Custom Order for your snowball, once you’ve added your debts, tap the Settings icon, tap Configure Snowball, drag the debts into the desired order, and then tap the back arrow. Otherwise, skip this step.

Detailed Setup – Other Options

Changing the Currency (Optional)

  1. If you want to change the currency to something other than the default of dollars, tap Settings icon on the Debts screen, then tap the Currency option.

    You will be taken to the Currency screen.

  2. Tap the desired currency.
    You will be returned to the Settings screen and the currency will be set.

Adding Email Addresses (Optional)

  1. If you wish to enter up to 4 different email addresses to send your snowball information to, tap the Settings icon on the Debts screen. Then tap the Email Addresses option.

    You will be taken to the Email Addresses screen.

  2. Tap the + icon.

    A keyboard will appear.

  3. Enter your email address, verify that you have entered it correctly, and then tap Done.

  4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for up to three more email addresses.

  5. When you are finished entering email addresses, tap the back arrow to return to the Settings screen.

Download from iCloud (Optional)

This feature allows you to download previously-uploaded data from iCloud, even across devices if they are using the same Apple ID. You must have first used the Upload to iCloud feature on one device with the same Apple ID in order to use the download feature. To download app data from iCloud:

  1. Make sure you are connected to the internet.

  2. Tap the Settings icon on the Debts screen. Then tap the Download from iCloud option.

    A message box will appear.

  3. If you have changed your mind and do not want to download the most recently-uploaded data, tap Cancel. If you are sure you want to download the most-recently uploaded data, tap OK.

    A loading animation will appear.

  4. Tap the Debts screen and your downloaded information will appear.

Upload to iCloud (Optional)

  1. If you are using iCloud and wish to send your data to it, make sure you are connected to the internet.

  2. Tap the Settings icon on the Debts screen. Then tap the Upload to iCloud option.

    A loading animation will appear, followed by the Uploaded successfully message. Note that you may need to do this step twice the first time you upload data to iCloud.

  3. Tap OK.

    The message box will close, and your data will now be stored on iCloud, and users with the same Apple ID can share data across devices.

Setting a Password (Optional)

WARNING! If you set a password and later forget it, I have no way of getting it back. Your data will be inaccessible if you forget it (unless you have previously uploaded it to iCloud), so please only use this feature with care.

  1. Tap Password on the Settings screen.

    You will be taken to the Password screen.

  2. Tap On.

    A new screen will appear.

  3. Tap New Password.

    A keyboard will appear.

  4. Enter the desired password.

  5. Tap Confirm Password and enter the desired password again.

  6. Tap Done in the top right corner of the screen.

    A message box will appear saying, “Are you sure you want to set a password? Lost passwords cannot be recovered, and your data will be inaccessible.”

  7. If you have changed your mind and do not want to set a password, tap Cancel twice. Otherwise, tap Done to set the password.

Note: Once you have set a password, a Change Password option will appear on the Settings screen. You can tap that option at any time to change your password to something else, or you can tap the Password option again to remove the password.

Setting Payment Reminders (Optional)

The Payment Reminders option can be used to notify you of approaching due dates for your debts. Please note that payment reminders will only appear (if on) prior to the due date. Once the due date has passed, the reminders will no longer appear. It can be used in conjunction with the Modify Due Dates option.

  1. Tap the Payment Reminders option on the Settings screen.

    You will be taken to the Payment Reminders screen.

  2. Choose how far in advance of the due dates you would like to be notified, if the app is opened. Tap either 1 Day, 3 Days, 5 Days, or 1 Week.

    You will be returned to the Settings screen.

  3. If you would to temporarily advance due dates that would otherwise fall on a weekend or a non-existant date, tap the Modify Due Dates option on the Settings screen.

    You will be taken to the Modify Due Dates screen.

  4. Tap On.

    Due date modification will be turned on, and you will be returned to the Settings screen.