[USER]

I am a person who likes to plan ahead carefully.

[Colin]

No, it isn’t. It’s just the easiest way to think about it, which is why it works for Dave Ramsey’s audience.

[Aaron]

With 7k I think can use any method and it should be pretty much the same.

The biggest debate is generally when people have debt that’s going to take years to pay off of the 50k, 100k, 150k of debt that’s large relative to their income – in that situation they debate between the debt snowball and going with highest rates first Wich I believe is called the debt avalanche.

And imo the difference between these two is that if you know you have grit and self determination and the ability to follow a hard plan for years and years without stopping then the avalanche is better. If you don’t know that about yourself the snowball has some benifits.

Explore these too: Does anyone have an organized spreadsheet or way of listing their debt to begin the debt snowball?

[John]

Highest APR to lowest, in that order. 😀

[Richard]

I think if you have a stupid amount of cards, snowball may be ok psychologically and make it easier to manage and eliminate some debts.

With 3 cards and $7k…..go after highest interest first.

[Jeff]

Snowball method is what a lot of people prefer because it keeps you motivated as you gain momentum.

[Chris]

The debt snowball is a method that helps boost your confidence because you’re paying off those smaller debts, feeling like you’re gaining traction and then rolling the excess money to the larger ones.

Also, check out: Is it better to consolidate high interest credit cards with a loan while in step 2 or just pay off with the snowball?

[Stev]

Snowball is not mathematically optimal, but there is good evidence suggesting the psychological boost people get from doing it that way makes them more likely to succeed.

Just sticking to the math though it is better to pay highest apr to lowest (sometimes called the avalanche method).

[Crystal]

Any way that gets you there is the best way! There’s great psychology behind the snowball method (targeting the lowest dollar debt first and moving up from there), you get to see the wins.

The best method however (mathematically) is targeting the highest interest debt first.

[Sean]

It’s never been the “best” way.

Best is subjective, but mathematically it’s always best to pay off the highest interest rate loan first. That should get you out of debt the fastest.

That being said, some people believe in the psychological benefits of the snowball method, and that could lead to you paying down the debt faster, if it motivates you to put more money towards it.

Don’t forget to take a look at: Need advice, tips, words of wisdom on a mindset thing with credit card debt?

[Christine]

So I am single income on clerk salary and I follow Dave Ramsey baby steps Millionaire lifestyle. Net worth > $1 million with a paid off house in California debt free no family no government assistance. Money is not just about the math. It’s emotional.

You can’t be asking broke people on the internet to win with money. You’re the secret sauce as Dave would say.

[Jordan]

Many people downplay the psychological benefits. The avalanche method is the proper mathematical/logical method.

But don’t forget the fact that most people with significant numbers of revolving debt accounts aren’t necessarily practicing good math or logic…

So, for many of those people, the psychological method trumps the mathematical one.

[Author]

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