Debt Avalanche

A payoff strategy that targets the highest-interest debt first while paying minimums on the rest.

The debt avalanche method directs any extra payment toward whichever debt carries the highest interest rate, while paying only the minimum on everything else, then moves to the next-highest rate once that one's paid off. Mathematically it saves the most money in total interest, though some people find the slower early progress less motivating than other methods.

Using the debt avalanche, she paid off her 24% credit card before touching her lower-rate student loan, saving the most in interest overall.