01/30/2025
Debt is a bummer. Fortunately, reducing debt isn’t as hard as you’d think. Here are two of the most common ways you can attack your debt.
▪️Avalanche approach▪️
Credit card interest rates are typically higher than rates on cars, mortgages, student loans, etc. And to be honest, paying interest on debt is wasting your hard-earned money.
So that’s where you’ll start attacking debt with the avalanche approach.
Look at your most recent credit card statement and rank your debt based on interest rate, highest first.
Work towards making bigger and bigger payments on those high-rate cards and, over time, you’ll pay less interest each month.
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▪️Snowball strategy▪️
This approach takes a bit longer than the avalanche approach because you’re starting small, but it works better for some people.
Using the snowball strategy, rank your debts by the total amount owed, smallest balance first.
And just like in a snowball fight, start knocking down the debt one-by-one.
Pay your smallest debt as quickly as possible so you can cross it off your list. Once that debt is eliminated, move to the next smallest debt.
For both methods, make sure you’re making minimum required payments on all other debts.
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Pro tip: Use the money that was going to the now paid-off debt to make larger payments on remaining debt.
Debt doesn’t have to keep you down. Whether you choose the avalanche approach or the snowball strategy, working to pay off your debt will set you up for financial peace.
