Debt Snowball
Also called: snowball method
The debt snowball pays off your smallest balance first, then rolls that payment into the next smallest, regardless of interest rate. Mathematically it's inferior to attacking the highest rate — you pay more interest overall. Behaviourally it often wins, because closing an account entirely delivers a visible victory, and people who see progress keep going. If you have five debts and the smallest is $400, clearing it in month one buys motivation that a spreadsheet cannot.
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