Trust built one payoff plan at a time.
Debt Blaster comes from ZilchWorks, a small software company created by Michael Riley, a retired Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant and longtime software developer.
This is not a new idea chasing a trend. It is the next chapter of software that has been helping people take control of their debt for decades.
Debt Blaster carries forward decades of ZilchWorks payoff-planning experience.
The story started before the product had a name.
In the summer of 1986, a friend showed Michael a magazine article about quickly paying off debts. The idea made sense, but building the actual payoff plan by hand took more than five hours.
That was the spark. Michael spent the next three months writing a program that could do the same planning work automatically.
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1986
A payoff idea becomes software.
A manual debt payoff plan takes hours to build. Michael writes the first rough version of the program to make the work repeatable.
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1990
The first retail version is created.
After the early program sits in a drawer, Michael turns the idea into a more complete software product.
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1991
ZilchWorks begins helping customers.
The original Zilch software begins reaching people who want a clear path out of debt.
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Today
Zilch becomes Debt Blaster.
The brand changes to a clearer name while keeping the same practical mission: help people turn debt into a plan they can follow.
A more direct name for the same mission.
Zilch is a clever word. It means zero. That fit the original goal: reduce debt to zilch.
Debt Blaster is more obvious. It speaks plainly to people who are overwhelmed by balances, minimum payments, due dates, and interest. They do not need a clever name first. They need to know they are in the right place.
Debt Blaster says what it helps you do.
The software helps you organize your debts, choose a payoff strategy, and see how extra money can accelerate your plan.
The new name is meant to make that promise easier to understand in a few seconds, especially for someone visiting the site for the first time.
What Debt Blaster stands for
Getting out of debt is not magic. It is a sequence of decisions, payments, and small wins. Debt Blaster exists to make that sequence easier to see and easier to follow.
A clear plan
People should be able to see what to pay, when to pay it, and how long the plan should take.
Real momentum
Paid-off debts should free up money that can be rolled into the next debt instead of disappearing into the budget fog.
Practical software
The product should help regular people make decisions without requiring them to become spreadsheet experts.
Customer trust
A debt payoff tool should be clear, honest, and useful before and after the sale.
We Believe
Life is better without debt.
A clear plan changes everything.
Courage begins with a single choice.
Nobody is perfect. Everyone deserves a second chance.
We make things right when we can - and own it when we fall short.
Each of us has a pilot light.
Rock bottom is only temporary.
Anyone can get out of debt. Even you.
Built by Michael Riley
Michael created the original software while serving in the Marine Corps and continued improving it as customers used it in real life.
His approach has always been practical: give people a plan they can understand, then help them keep moving until the balances are gone.
Debt Blaster exists for the person who is tired of guessing, tired of minimum payments, and ready to see a real payoff path in front of them.
Retired Marine
A Marine Corps background helped shape the focus on discipline, planning, and steady progress.
Software artisan
The software was built by someone who has been solving this specific problem for decades.
The name changed. The purpose did not.
Debt Blaster is here to help people turn debt from a pile of bills into a payoff plan they can understand and use.