There are as many ways to guide getting out of credit card debt as there are ways of getting into it, it seems, and this amount of choice can seem overwhelming. One of the more popular ways to get out of debt is the “snowball method,” which was popularized by Dave Ramsey. According to Debt.org, the snowball method is a way of reducing debt by paying off the smallest debts first.
The reason why this method is so popular is because it is very motivating. The way that you would set up a “snowball” method is to organize all of your credit cards and figure out which one has the smallest debt. You would then pay this one off first, and work your way up to the next one. In this way, you will have constant motivation since you will be able to see progress very quickly.
The problem with the snowball method is that it can end up costing more money than the “avalanche” method. With the avalanche method, you go after the debt with the highest interest rate first, as opposed to the smallest debt. The avalanche method is good for those who want to save as much money paying off their debt as possible, but the issue is that it might be less motivating since it may take a long time to “get anywhere” with the process.
Paying off credit card debt is as much of a mental battle as it is a financial one. Once you understand how you mentally approach getting rid of debt, you can then choose the appropriate method for you.