 TITLE: The Debt Avalanche Method: How It Works and When to Use It CONTENT: Is the Debt Avalanche Better Than the Debt Snowball Method?\n-----------------------------------------------------------\nA drawback of the debt avalanche method, as you can see from our example, is that your first balance may feel overwhelming to eliminate. Paying off $5,000 to start might seem like a steeper hill to climb than paying off $3,000.\nThe debt snowball method is an alternative that can give you the opportunity to feel successful faster. This strategy recommends paying off your smallest balance first, no matter the interest rate. You won't see the same interest savings over time, but experiencing a quicker victory early could keep you going, and ensure you make it to the end of your debt payoff journey.\nIn our example, you'd pay off the $3,000 balance first because it's the smallest, then move on to the $5,000 balance, and finally the $8,000 balance. The $8,000 debt is the last one to tackle in both scenarios because it's the largest, and has the lowest interest rate. But using the debt snowball might give you more encouragement early on—and get you to the finish line.\nAn even bigger drawback of the debt snowball, though, is that you'll save less money. That makes the debt avalanche method a superior strategy in most cases.\nFor instance, tackling the $3,000 balance in 12 months rather than the nearly 10 years it would take while making minimum payments would save you about $1,370. That's a significant amount, but it's less than half what you'd save if you used the debt avalanche method at the first stage in the process. END