The debt snowball method prioritizes paying off the smallest balances first to build psychological momentum and create early wins. The technique became widely publicized in popular personal finance writing because it leverages human behavior: seeing a balance go to zero motivates continued effort. Practically, you list all debts by outstanding balance (smallest to largest), continue paying minimums on every debt, and direct any extra payoff cash toward the smallest account until it’s cleared. Once paid, you roll the freed-up payment into the next-smallest balance, creating a “snowball” of increasing payment power. For many households, this method addresses the emotional work of debt repayment — reducing the daily mental burden of multiple open accounts and creating tangible progress markers. It’s especially effective when a borrower struggles with consistency; the frequent small victories increase commitment and reduce the risk of abandoning the plan.

The trade-off is that while the snowball accelerates psychological wins, it may not minimize interest paid compared with the avalanche method (which targets highest-interest debt first). For higher-cost debts, the mathematical savings of focusing on interest can be meaningful, but only if the borrower sticks with the plan. If motivation is the main barrier, snowball often produces a higher probability of success. To implement thoughtfully: (1) list debts and confirm interest rates and minimums, (2) set an achievable extra-payment amount, (3) automate payments where possible to avoid missed progress, and (4) celebrate each payoff responsibly while avoiding creating new unsecured balances. After several accounts are cleared, consider switching to an interest-first focus for remaining high-rate balances if that yields material savings.