# Unburden

> A debt payoff app built around a financial vulnerability score. Find your Burden Score, pick the right strategy, and watch your score drop.

License: CC BY 4.0 (educational content) — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

## About

Unburden is a privacy-first debt payoff planning app built in Ontario, Canada. It introduces the **Burden Score**, a proprietary 0-100 financial vulnerability score that measures how much stress your debt is putting on your life. Credit scores were built for lenders. The Burden Score was built for you. The app pairs the score with three payoff strategies, a month-by-month timeline, and a daily cost counter, all on-device with no bank linking.

## Key Concepts

- **Burden Score**: A 0-100 financial vulnerability score built on five weighted financial stress signals. Five tiers: Unburdened (0-15), Stable (16-35), Stressed (36-55), Heavy (56-75), Critical (76-100). Unlike a credit score, it measures risk to you, not risk to a lender.
- **Debt Snowball**: Pays off smallest balance first. Smallest debt clears fastest, which creates motivational momentum. May cost more in total interest than the avalanche.
- **Debt Avalanche**: Targets the highest interest rate first. Mathematically minimizes total interest paid across all debts.
- **Momentum Strategy**: Unburden's proprietary three-rule payoff method (Pro only). Combines snowball's motivation with avalanche's math. Constrained to match or beat avalanche on total interest across modeled debt profiles.
- **Debt-to-Income Ratio (DTI)**: Total monthly debt payments divided by gross monthly income. Lenders typically want back-end DTI under 36-43%. Front-end DTI excludes non-housing debt.
- **Daily Cost Counter**: The per-day interest your debt accrues. Makes the invisible cost of minimum payments visible.

## The Burden Score

- Proprietary 0-100 score measuring real financial vulnerability
- Built on 5 financial stress signals, each weighted to your situation
- Five tiers: Unburdened (0-15), Stable (16-35), Stressed (36-55), Heavy (56-75), Critical (76-100)
- Free users get their score, tier, and share cards
- Pro unlocks the full factor breakdown, monthly trends, history chart, and projections
- Not something you'll find on a standard banking or credit app

## Payoff Strategies

- **Snowball** (Free): Pays off smallest balance first for quick psychological wins
- **Avalanche** (Free): Targets highest interest rate first, saves the most money on interest paid
- **Momentum** (Pro): Proprietary three-rule system that combines snowball's motivation with avalanche's math. Mathematically constrained to match or beat avalanche on total interest paid across modeled debt profiles.

The app analyzes your debt profile and recommends the strategy that fits your situation.

## Core Features

- Burden Score: financial vulnerability score
- Three payoff strategies (Snowball, Avalanche, Momentum)
- Smart strategy recommendations
- Month-by-month payment timeline
- Interest savings calculator
- Daily Cost Counter (what your debt costs per day)
- What-If Simulator (test extra payments, rate changes)
- Share cards for milestones
- Spaces for couples (separate debt tracking)
- 13 debt types supported
- ADHD-friendly design (short flows, visual progress, no walls of text)

## Privacy Model

The **Unburden app** (app.unburden.money) collects no data. Everything below describes the app itself:

- Your balances, rates, and payoff plan never leave your device
- No bank linking required
- No account creation required
- No financial data transmitted to Unburden's servers
- No ads, no selling data
- No session replay, no analytics, no tracking inside the app
- Backed up through your own Google account

The marketing site at unburden.money uses basic analytics (session replay and web vitals) behind cookie consent to improve the website. Your financial information architecturally cannot be part of that — the app never transmits it.

## Pricing (USD)

- **Free**: Burden Score score and tier, up to 3 debts, Snowball and Avalanche, basic reminders, PIN lock. Free forever (not a trial).
- **Pro Monthly**: $6.45/month, marketed as "just $1.49/week" (7-day free trial)
- **Pro Annual**: $49.99/year (7-day free trial)
- **Lifetime**: $149 one-time (all future updates included)

## Key Statistics

Figures below are calculated from Unburden's simulation of representative debt profiles comparing optimized payoff strategies to paying only the minimum. Real results vary with individual circumstances.

- Average interest saved on modeled debt profiles: $4,320 (optimized strategy vs minimum payments only)
- Average time reduction on modeled debt profiles: 14 months (optimized strategy vs minimum payments only)
- Onboarding: 60 seconds to your Burden Score score

## Status

Live. App available at https://app.unburden.money

## Press & Media

- [Press & Media Kit](https://unburden.money/press) — Boilerplate, pre-approved quotes, brand assets, statistics, and journalist FAQ. Press contact: hello@unburden.money

## Calculators

Fifteen free financial calculators, no sign-up required:

- [Debt Payoff Calculator](https://unburden.money/tools/debt-payoff-calculator) — Compare Snowball vs Avalanche strategies side by side with a month-by-month payoff schedule
- [Credit Card Payoff Calculator](https://unburden.money/tools/credit-card-payoff-calculator) — See how long your card will take to pay off and how much interest you will pay
- [Budget Calculator (50/30/20)](https://unburden.money/tools/budget-calculator) — Apply the 50/30/20 rule to your income and see where debt payments fit
- [Debt-to-Income Ratio Calculator](https://unburden.money/tools/debt-to-income-calculator) — Calculate your DTI percentage and see what lenders think of your profile
- [Student Loan Payoff Calculator](https://unburden.money/tools/student-loan-calculator) — Compare standard repayment vs aggressive payoff on student debt
- [Debt Consolidation Calculator](https://unburden.money/tools/debt-consolidation-calculator) — Compare current payments against a consolidation loan to see if you actually save
- [Compound Interest Calculator](https://unburden.money/tools/compound-interest-calculator) — Toggle between debt cost and savings growth with year-by-year breakdowns
- [Loan Payoff Calculator](https://unburden.money/tools/loan-payoff-calculator) — See how extra payments shorten your loan and save thousands in interest
- [Balance Transfer Calculator](https://unburden.money/tools/balance-transfer-calculator) — Check whether a 0% transfer actually saves money after the fee and the post-promo rate
- [Biweekly Payment Calculator](https://unburden.money/tools/biweekly-payment-calculator) — See how switching to biweekly payments adds one extra payment per year and shortens payoff
- [Emergency Fund Calculator](https://unburden.money/tools/emergency-fund-calculator) — Target your emergency fund based on expenses, employment type, and dependents
- [Pay Off Debt or Invest Calculator](https://unburden.money/tools/debt-vs-invest-calculator) — Debt APR vs after-tax investment return with a clear, numerical verdict
- [Gig Worker Debt Payoff Calculator](https://unburden.money/tools/gig-worker-debt-calculator) — Model payoff with variable income: safe baseline, surge bonuses, realistic timeline
- [Side Hustle Debt Calculator](https://unburden.money/tools/side-hustle-debt-calculator) — See how much faster extra gig income pays off debt, with irregular income modeling
- [Tax Refund Debt Payoff Calculator](https://unburden.money/tools/tax-refund-boost-calculator) — Apply a refund, bonus, or windfall to your debt and see exactly how many months it saves
- [All Calculators](https://unburden.money/tools) — Browse the full collection

## Blog Guides

Practical debt payoff content backed by real math:

- [Snowball vs Avalanche: 1,000 Real Debt Profiles](https://unburden.money/blog/snowball-vs-avalanche) — Tested on 1,000 realistic debt profiles. Who saves more, who finishes faster, and when the difference is negligible
- [Why ADHD Brains Get Stuck in Debt Cycles](https://unburden.money/blog/adhd-debt-cycle) — The four-part cycle and the one strategy that actually sticks
- [The 10-Minute ADHD Budget That Actually Sticks](https://unburden.money/blog/adhd-friendly-budget) — A budgeting system that works with executive function, not against it
- [ADHD Money Triggers: 5 Patterns From 100+ Profiles](https://unburden.money/blog/adhd-money-triggers) — Boredom Spending, Shame Avoidance, Time Blindness, All-or-Nothing, Friction Deficit
- [The Minimum Payment Trap](https://unburden.money/blog/minimum-payment-trap) — On a $8,240 card at 24.99% APR, 86% of a $200 minimum goes to interest
- [What $100/Month Extra Actually Does](https://unburden.money/blog/extra-100-per-month) — Saves $3,839 in interest and cuts 3.8 years off a $6,500 credit card
- [A 2% APR Difference Costs $4,716](https://unburden.money/blog/interest-rate-matters) — The full APR ladder from 18% to 26% on $15,000
- [Paying Off Debt Together](https://unburden.money/blog/paying-off-debt-together) — A research-backed framework for couples tackling debt
- [The True Cost of Buy Now, Pay Later](https://unburden.money/blog/true-cost-of-bnpl) — Afterpay, Klarna, Affirm: late fees, deferred interest, credit score hits
- [The True Cost of Buy Now, Pay Later in Canada (2026)](https://unburden.money/blog/true-cost-bnpl-canada) — Per-provider miss rates and three Canadian cost scenarios
- [The Cost of Waiting to Pay Off Debt](https://unburden.money/blog/cost-of-waiting) — Six months of delay costs $2,299 to $7,834 across three real profiles
- [The Burden Score vs Your Credit Score](https://unburden.money/blog/burden-index-vs-credit-score) — What your credit score misses about your financial vulnerability
- [What Is a Financial Vulnerability Score?](https://unburden.money/blog/financial-vulnerability-score) — How the score works and why banks don't show one
- [What a Debt Free Date Calculator Actually Needs](https://unburden.money/blog/debt-free-date-calculator) — The inputs most calculators skip, with a $5,000 worked example
- [When Will I Be Debt-Free? (We Built a Tool That Tells You the Exact Date)](https://unburden.money/blog/when-will-i-be-debt-free) — Announcement of the Debt-Free By share tool. Why we built it, the math, and how to share your debt-free date
- [Paying Off $18,000 in Debt on a $40K Salary](https://unburden.money/blog/debt-payoff-40k-salary) — Modeled timelines, 50/30/20 adapted for debt, exact budget breakdown
- [How Much Extra to Pay to Cut 1 Year Off Debt](https://unburden.money/blog/extra-payment-calculator) — Three amortization scenarios with exact dollar savings
- [Side Hustle Debt Payoff: What the Math Actually Shows](https://unburden.money/blog/side-hustle-debt-payoff) — $300, $700, and $1,200/month extra income on $15,000 at 21% APR
- [How Much Emergency Fund Do You Actually Need?](https://unburden.money/blog/how-much-emergency-fund) — Salaried (3-4 months), freelance (5-6), self-employed (7-9)
- [Pay Off Debt or Invest? The Actual Break-Even Numbers](https://unburden.money/blog/pay-off-debt-or-invest) — Debt APR vs after-tax return, with a rate-by-rate verdict table
- [Is a Balance Transfer Worth It? The Full Math for 2026](https://unburden.money/blog/is-a-balance-transfer-worth-it) — $10,000 at 25.30% APR to 0% for 18 months with 3% fee
- [What Is a Good Debt-to-Income Ratio? (2026 Thresholds)](https://unburden.money/blog/what-is-a-good-debt-to-income-ratio) — Formula, 2026 lender thresholds, front-end vs back-end split
- [How to Pay Off Student Loans Faster: The 2026 Math](https://unburden.money/blog/how-to-pay-off-student-loans-faster) — Standard vs aggressive payoff on $37,650 average federal balance
- [The Debt Consolidation Math: When It Saves You Money](https://unburden.money/blog/debt-consolidation-math) — Three variables most lenders don't show you
- [The Hidden Tax on Your Debt Payoff (Tariffs)](https://unburden.money/blog/tariff-tax-on-debt) — $600 to $1,700/year in tariff costs pushes payoff timelines out by years

## Switching Guides

Step-by-step migration guides for moving from popular debt and budgeting apps to Unburden. Each guide covers data export, setup, feature-by-feature honesty, and cancelation flow.

- [Switching hub](https://unburden.money/switching/) — All five migration guides in one place
- [From YNAB](https://unburden.money/switching/from-ynab/) — Leave $14.99/month zero-based budgeting for a debt-focused planner in 10 minutes
- [From Mint](https://unburden.money/switching/from-mint/) — Post-shutdown migration for users who do not want Credit Karma
- [From Rocket Money](https://unburden.money/switching/from-rocket-money/) — Cancel Premium cleanly and move your debt plan
- [From Monarch](https://unburden.money/switching/from-monarch/) — Honest migration from the $14.99/month full-budgeter to a focused debt tool
- [From Credit Karma](https://unburden.money/switching/from-credit-karma/) — When the free debt features are not enough and you need real payoff tools

## Comparisons

Honest side-by-side comparisons of Unburden against popular alternatives. Pricing, features, privacy, and Canadian support compared.

- [Compare hub](https://unburden.money/compare/) — All comparisons in one place
- [Unburden vs YNAB](https://unburden.money/compare/unburden-vs-ynab/) — Full-budget envelope system vs debt-focused planner with Burden Score
- [Unburden vs Mint](https://unburden.money/compare/unburden-vs-mint/) — Mint is shut down; what actually replaces it for debt payoff
- [Unburden vs Rocket Money](https://unburden.money/compare/unburden-vs-rocket-money/) — Subscription-tracking bill app vs debt-payoff planner
- [Unburden vs Monarch](https://unburden.money/compare/unburden-vs-monarch/) — Full-feature budgeting suite vs focused debt payoff tool
- [Unburden vs Debt Payoff Planner App](https://unburden.money/compare/unburden-vs-debt-payoff-planner-app/) — Generic debt payoff planner vs Burden Score + Momentum strategy

## HTML Sitemap

- [Full site map](https://unburden.money/sitemap) — A browsable index of pages, calculators, blog posts, and printables
- [XML sitemap](https://unburden.money/sitemap.xml) — Machine-readable sitemap for search engines

## Disclaimer

Unburden is a planning tool, not a financial advisor. The Burden Score is an educational estimate based on self-reported data. It is not financial advice and does not represent an official credit or insolvency assessment. Results vary based on individual circumstances. If you're struggling with debt, consider speaking with a Licensed Insolvency Trustee.

## Contact

- Website: https://unburden.money
- App: https://app.unburden.money
- Email: hello@unburden.money
- Founded in Ontario, Canada

## Links

- [Full details for LLMs](https://unburden.money/llms-full.txt)
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