PSA: The $400 snowball method I tried vs the avalanche method I switched to

I threw $400 extra at my smallest credit card for 6 months and barely felt like I was getting anywhere with the total debt mountain. Switched to the avalanche method with a 22% APR store card instead, and in 4 months I've knocked off $1,200 in principal by attacking the highest interest first. Anybody else find that chasing the 'small win' actually cost them more in the long run?

2 comments

2 Comments

jason9582d ago

Heard a financial advisor on the radio once call the snowball method the "behavioral win" approach. Makes sense if you need the motivation, but yeah, you're literally paying extra to feel good about yourself. I read somewhere that the math is pretty simple: higher interest always costs you more over time, so avalanche is the only logical choice if you can stick with it. Sounds like you figured that out the hard way, but at least you're making real progress now.

the_wade2d ago

Oh man, same here @jason958, I wasted way too much money before I finally did the math and switched over.