What is the debt avalanche vs snowball method?

There are two popular strategies for paying off multiple debts, and the math favors one while behavior favors the other.

Debt avalanche (math winner). List your debts by interest rate from highest to lowest. Make minimum payments on everything, then put every extra dollar toward the highest-rate debt. Once that is gone, roll that payment to the next highest rate. This minimizes total interest paid and gets you debt-free faster in dollar terms.

Debt snowball (behavior winner). List debts by balance from smallest to largest. Same minimum-payment strategy, but extra money goes to the smallest balance first. The first few debts disappear quickly, which creates a sense of progress that keeps people motivated. You pay more interest in total, but the psychological wins help people stay on track.

Which one should you pick? If you are disciplined about sticking to a plan and want the lowest possible cost, use avalanche. If you have struggled with motivation or need quick wins to build momentum, use snowball. Both are better than making minimum payments and hoping for the best.

A third option: hybrid. Some people knock out the smallest debt first (snowball start), then switch to avalanche for everything remaining. That gives you an early win without the long-term interest penalty of pure snowball.