Debt Avalanche

Debt avalanche summary:

  • Debt avalanche is a debt payoff method that prioritizes paying off debt with the highest interest rate first. 

  • In a debt avalanche, you keep paying the minimum payment on each of your debts. Then, put any extra money you have toward the debt with the highest interest rate.

Debt avalanche definition and meaning

The debt avalanche method is a debt payoff strategy that focuses on first paying off your most expensive debt. 

When you use the debt avalanche method, you continue to pay the minimum amount due on all debts. At the same time, you put any additional debt payoff funds toward the debt with the highest interest rate. This debt payoff strategy gets rid of your most expensive debts first and could reduce the total interest you pay. Reducing the interest charges could help you clear your debts faster. 

Key concept: The debt avalanche method is a debt repayment strategy that prioritizes paying off debt with the highest interest rate first, to minimize interest charges. 

More about debt avalanche 

The debt avalanche strategy can be an effective way to tackle debt repayment. Since the debt avalanche method focuses on paying off the debt with the highest interest rate first, you could save a significant amount of money in interest using this debt repayment strategy. 

Here's how to follow the debt avalanche method while making payments on your debt: 

  1. Make a list of all your debts, and note the balances and interest rates for each account.

  2. Decide how much money you can afford to put toward debt repayment each month. 

  3. Make the minimum payment on all your debts, except the one with the highest rate.

  4. On the debt with the highest rate, make the biggest payment you can afford.  

  5. Once the first debt is paid off, add its entire payment to the minimum payment you were already making on your next most costly debt. 

  6. Repeat this process until all your debts are paid off. 

As you make progress in reducing your highest-interest debt, it’s important to keeping paying the minimum amount due on all other debts. You don't want to risk late payment fees or damaging your credit report and credit score. 

Compared to the debt snowball method, a debt avalanche could help you clear your debts about a month faster. Sometimes the two methods take the same amount of time, but in a debt avalanche, your final payment would be smaller.

The debt avalanche is just one debt payoff method. When tackling debt, you should follow a debt repayment strategy that works best for your goals and financial situation. 

Debt Avalanche FAQs

The debt avalanche trumps the debt snowball when it comes to lowering the cost of the debt. You could pay less in interest using the avalanche vs. snowball method. However, the snowball method can give you some quick wins right away, which can motivate you to keep going. 

The three strategies for getting out of debt are:

  • Debt snowball: Pay off your smallest debt first 

  • Debt avalanche: Pay off your debt with the highest interest rate first

  • Debt blizzard: Pay off the smallest debt first, and then switch to the avalanche method

The fastest way to pay off debt is different for everyone. For some people, it’s paying as much as you can every month, following a debt avalanche or debt snowball strategy. For others, it may be resolving debts for less than the full amount that you owe. This is where talking to a debt expert can help you forge the right path.

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