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March 30, 2011

Payoff – Reduce Debt, Save More, Have Fun

Payoff is a debt-reduction website that utilizes a series of six “payoff pillars” to help people reduce debt and build a financial cushion. People who use Payoff can set goals, manage money, earn badges, win prices, and gain insight into what they need to do to continue down the path to financial freedom. Who says money management has to be boring?

Sign up to use Payoff for free, or login with a Facebook account. The first step to achieving financial freedom with Payoff is to type in your dream. Whether that’s saving for a new bike, a new home, or retirement, you can’t start working towards a dream until you’ve identified what that dream is. Once you’ve saved a dream, you’ll need to set a goal. Set as many goals as you like, just be sure they’re attainable. To get the full benefit out of Payoff you’ll next need to link up your bank accounts. Add accounts through the site’s “Fund Manager” feature to get a complete financial snapshot of where you’re at on the path toward success. When you get to this step, Payoff will start recommending ways to reach your goals. Follow Payoff’s recommendations and you’ll start earning virtual badges. For every badge you earn, you will be entered to win random cash prizes that can be redeemed at any time.

For people who could stand to learn more about money management and wealth accumulation, Payoff offers articles, blogs, and easy-to-understand graphs that can help anyone learn about money in no time. The web-app also offers features that allow users to make their profiles public or private. Debt management doesn’t have to be boring or depressing, at least not as long as Payoff is around.

Practical Uses:

  • Get advice on how to pay off credit card bills and become debt-free
  • Find out how close you are to being able to afford a new car
  • Earn cash rewards for saving money and paying off debt
  • Read up-to-date advice on how to lower bills and reduce debt

Insider Tips:

  • Use the Fund Manager feature to link bank accounts directly to Payoff
  • Payoff “military level security” to keep people’s financial data safe
  • Users can redeem sur-prizes and get real checks sent to them in the mail
  • Payoff earns money when a user chooses to do business with one of its partners

What we liked:

  • Payoff takes an otherwise boring topic like money management and makes it fun
  • Debt reduction tools can actually help people learn how to lower their bills
  • Payoff helps put people on the right track, rather than encouraging them to spend more money
  • People who use Payoff can actually earn cash rewards and prizes

What we didn’t like:

  • Payoff earns money when users buy products and services they recommend, which means their recommendations could be seen as biased

Alternatives:

Company Info:

  • Launched: December 2010 (Beta)
  • Privately Held
  • Headquarters: Los Angeles, CA
  • Founded by: Eden Warner and Scott Saunders
  • Web site: https://payoff.com

Costs:

  • Free

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