Strategies for paying off debt
Whether you owe credit cards, auto loans, student loans or medical bills, a written payoff plan beats good intentions. The key is to pay at least the minimum on every account and direct any extra money to one target at a time.
Debt snowball
List debts from smallest to largest balance and attack the smallest first. The motivation from early wins helps many people stay the course.
Debt avalanche
List debts by interest rate and attack the highest rate first. This minimizes total interest paid and is mathematically optimal.
Frequently asked questions
Most experts suggest building a small emergency fund first, then attacking high-interest debt aggressively while keeping up minimum payments on everything else.
Snowball pays the smallest balance first for quick wins; avalanche pays the highest interest rate first to minimize total interest. Both are supported in the Debt Snowball Calculator.
Yes. Because interest is charged on the remaining balance, even a modest extra payment can cut years off a payoff timeline and save thousands in interest.