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Save on Interest or Save on Willpower? Comparing the Snowball and Avalanche Debt Payoff Methods

Your debt doesn’t have to leave you out in the cold.

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Went to college? Own a car? Maxed out your credit card? If so, you probably have at least a bit of debt. If you’re like the majority of Americans, you likely have a lot of it.

Debt can feel like a huge vortex sucking you in or a weight pushing down on your shoulders that seems impossible to throw off. However, there are options for paying back the money you owe, including trying out different methods so that you can shed your debt and breathe easily. 

Two of the most popular strategies for repaying debt are the snowball method and the avalanche method. To snowball, you start by paying off the smallest of your loans and gradually put the pedal to the metal, working toward the larger ones. The idea behind the avalanche method is to start by attacking the loans with the highest interest rates. 

Before you choose one of these strategies, you will probably want to know the pros and cons of each. Take a look at the infographic below to find more information about how it works, examples, and timelines. Who knows? This could be just the push you need to become debt-free within the next five years.

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