11+debt-strategy

List Every Debt Clearly

Create a complete debt inventory listing every outstanding balance, interest rate, minimum payment, and due date — as the essential first step before any repayment strategy is designed.

In this lesson

List Every Debt Clearly is part of Building a Debt Repayment Strategy. This preview shows how debt-strategy connects to everyday family decisions such as earning, saving, spending choices, goals, approvals, or parent-guided money conversations inside Progress Penguin.

Think about this money choice

Ngozi has three loans: one from a bank, one from a colleague, and one on her credit card. She is not sure of the exact balances or interest rates.

How it works

Before any debt repayment strategy can be designed, the full debt picture must be clear. This means listing every outstanding debt: the lender's name, the current balance, the interest rate, the minimum monthly payment, and the next due date. Without this list, it is impossible to prioritise, plan, or measure progress.

Apply it to a real decision

Real-life money moment: Ngozi has three loans but has never written them down together. When she does: Bank loan — 150000 in local currency at 18%/year. Colleague loan — 30000 in local currency at 0%. Credit card — 45000 in local currency at 36%/year. Total debt: 225000 in local currency. The credit card, though the smallest balance, has the highest interest rate — nearly double the bank loan. She had not realised this before writing it all down.

Activity preview

Connect the ideas

Use the lesson to complete this short practice activity.

Try one real money action

Open Tasks and submit proof for one task, or open Requests and make a deposit request. Parent approval can happen later.

Quiz preview

Listing every debt clearly means:

Only listing debts with balances above 50000 in local currency since smaller ones are minor

Asking your bank to compile a list since they have access to all your debts

Memorising the total you owe without tracking individual debt details

Recording each debt's balance, interest rate, minimum payment, and creditor

You have three debts: 80000 in local currency at 25%, 30000 in local currency at 15%, 20000 in local currency at 10%. Listing them clearly helps you:

See which costs the most in interest and prioritise repayment accordingly

Negotiate them all down simultaneously now that you see them together

Decide to pay them all at once since listing reveals the manageable total

Ignore the smaller ones since the largest debt is clearly the priority