Alright so I need to confess something. When I first learned about debt payoff strategies, I became absolutely insufferable about the “mathematically optimal” approach. I’d lecture anyone who’d listen about interest rates and opportunity costs and blah blah blah.
Then I actually tried to pay off my debt using the avalanche method. And I failed. Spectacularly.
Let me back up.
What These Methods Actually Are
If you’re not familiar, there are two main approaches people talk about when it comes to paying off debt. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau breaks these down pretty well, but here’s my non-official explanation:
The Avalanche Method: You list all your debts by interest rate, highest to lowest. You pay minimums on everything except the highest-interest debt, and throw every extra dollar at that one. Once it’s paid off, you move to the next highest. Mathematically, this saves you the most money in interest.
The Snowball Method: You list all your debts by balance, smallest to largest. You pay minimums on everything except the smallest debt, and throw every extra dollar at that one. Once it’s paid off, you move to the next smallest. This gives you quick wins but might cost more in interest overall.
The FTC has a solid guide on getting out of debt that covers both approaches too, if you want the official government take.
Why I Started With the Avalanche (And Why It Didn’t Work For Me)
I had about $23,000 in debt when I got serious about paying it off. The breakdown was:
Credit Card A: $8,200 at 22.99% APR
Credit Card B: $3,400 at 18.99% APR
Personal loan: $7,800 at 11.99% APR
Store card: $1,100 at 26.99% APR
Medical bill: $2,500 at 0% (payment plan)
Looking at this, the avalanche method said: attack that store card first (highest rate), then Credit Card A, then B, then the personal loan. Makes total sense, right?
Except here’s what happened. That store card was only $1,100, so I paid it off pretty fast. Cool. But then I was staring at Credit Card A with its $8,200 balance and I just… couldn’t see progress. I was throwing $400-500 extra at it every month and the balance barely seemed to move. The interest kept piling up. It was demoralizing.
After four months of this, I gave up. Not on paying off debt entirely, but on any structured approach. I went back to making minimum payments and feeling bad about myself.
The Snowball Saved My Motivation
A few months later, I decided to try again. But this time I went with the snowball method, even though the math-loving part of my brain was screaming about “wasted interest.”
My new order was:
Medical bill: $2,500 (smallest balance)
Store card: paid off earlier so not relevant
Credit Card B: $3,400
Personal loan: $7,800
Credit Card A: $8,200
I knocked out that medical bill in about two months. And oh man, the feeling of having one less debt? It was like a drug. Suddenly I was motivated again. I could see progress.
The credit card followed about three months later. Then I was on a roll.
Did I pay more in interest overall? Yeah, probably a few hundred dollars more than if I’d stuck with the avalanche. But here’s what I’ve learned about myself: the “mathematically optimal” strategy is worthless if you can’t stick with it. And I couldn’t.
Which One Should You Use?
This is genuinely one of those “it depends” situations, and I hate that answer as much as you do. But here’s how I think about it now:
Try the avalanche if: You’re motivated by logic and numbers. You can stay focused even when progress is slow. Your highest-interest debts aren’t dramatically larger than your lower-rate ones.
Try the snowball if: You need quick wins to stay motivated (like me). You’re at risk of giving up if you don’t see progress. The psychological victory matters more to you than saving every possible dollar.
The honest truth? The best method is the one you’ll actually follow through on. If you’re already feeling discouraged about debt — and trust me, I’ve written about trying to pay off debt when you’re broke — maybe start with some quick wins to build momentum.
A Hybrid Approach I’ve Seen Work
Some people do a mix: they pay off one or two small debts first (snowball style) to get some momentum, then switch to avalanche for the remaining larger balances. I’ve seen friends do this successfully.
Also worth noting: if any of your debt is at 0% interest (like my medical bill was), there’s actually an argument for paying that one last regardless of balance. Why rush to pay something that isn’t costing you anything? Put your extra money toward the debts that are actually growing.
Whatever you choose, just… choose something. Having any plan beats making random payments and hoping for the best. I wasted years doing that.
The math matters, sure. But your psychology matters more. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good when it comes to getting out of debt.