How to Make the Debt Snowball Method Work for You

The debt snowball method is said to be one of the most effective debt payoff strategies, but does it live up to the hype? Read on to find out!

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Anyone who’s ever been interested in paying off debt has probably come across several debt payoff methods, with many experts swearing by the debt snowball method – but does it really work?

In this post, I share my real life experience with various debt payoff strategies and show you how you can use the debt snowball method to pay off debt fast!

Failed Attempts at Debt Elimination

Many years ago when I was looking to start my debt payoff journey, I didn’t know where to begin.

There was so much information out there that I was paralyzed by information overload!

I had so many debts and I wasn’t sure how to get started.

I’d always liked math, so after doing a little calculation, I decided to tackle my car loan first.

After all, I was paying so much interest on it that barely any of my monthly payment went towards the principal, and that really bothered me.

However, after several months of making extra payments on the car, I saw little progress.

I have to confess:

Not seeing my hard-earned money make an impact on my overall debt was discouraging, and after a while I just gave up.

Using the Debt Snowball Method

It wasn’t until several months later that I was introduced to the concept of the debt snowball through one of Dave Ramsey’s books, The Total Money Makeover.

I’d heard many people say it helped them, so I picked up a copy for myself.

As the book explains it, with this debt reduction strategy, you focus on the debts with the smallest balances first.

You throw every extra penny you find at it, while paying only the minimum payments on any other debts you may have.

Once that smallest debt is completely paid off, you apply the payments you were making on that debt to the next smallest debt, plus any minimum payment you were already making on that second smallest debt.

For those who like to see things written down, there’s a handy Debt Snowball Budget Printable that can be used for tracking the snowball’s progress.

The printable comes in several convenient sizes and has all you need to track your debt snowball progress. You can get yours here!

I didn’t like the math behind it since, given that some of my smallest bills had a low interest rate, I’d end up paying more interest in the long run.

However, I didn’t have much to lose and I decided to give this method a try.

I’m happy to report that snowballing your debt really works!

Within a few months, I was able to pay off three of my smallest bills. After that, I had the motivation to tackle some larger ones. With every debt I paid off, I felt on top of the world!

To see more about how the debt snowball method works, check out this infographic.

Why The Debt Snowball Method Works

Although mathematically it doesn’t make much sense, psychologically, it does.

According to a study published on Harvard Business Review, researchers concluded that “focusing on paying down the account with the smallest balance tends to have the most powerful effect on people’s sense of progress – and therefore their motivation to continue paying down their debts”.

In other words, that “on top of the world” feeling keeps people moving towards their debt repayment goals.

It certainly worked for me, as it can work for just about anyone else!

Related Posts

The Debt Snowball Method Explained (Infographic)

3 Reasons Why You’re Still in Debt (& How to Fix it)

How to Pay Off Debt According to Your Personality

Frequently Asked Questions

Before we get into best practices to use the debt snowball method effectively, let’s get some frequently asked questions out of the way!

How Can I Get Rid of Debt Quickly?

One of the easiest ways to get rid of debt quickly is to make extra payments towards your debt. Regardless of which debt reduction method you’re using (debt avalanche, debt snowball, etc), you will become debt-free faster if you make extra payments towards your debt as often as you can.

Of course, this is easier said than done. It will require you to come up with some extra money each month. For that, I recommend checking out some flexible job or gig options. Get started on Fiverr or Flexjobs to find some extra cash quick.

Many have also been able to get out of debt fast by getting a low-interest personal loan. Personal loans can be used for anything from home improvement projects to debt consolidation.

By using personal loans with low interest rates to pay off some of your higher interest debt, you will be able to get out of debt faster.

Check out LendingTree to see if you qualify!

Depending on your financial situation, you could possibly get a loan for a much lower interest rate than your credit cards or other loan debt you may have.

What is the Proper Order to Eliminate Debt?

When you have student loan debt, several credit cards, a mortgage and a car payment, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and confused trying to figure out which debt to tackle first.

Regardless of which debt elimination strategy you’re planning on using, most will have you pay down your car and mortgage last. This is because oftentimes, these two debts are large and have lower interest rates than say credit cards or other loans.

Normally, you would first focus on things like credit cards, medical debt, utilities, etc. Then you would move on to student loan debt and maybe some personal loans, and lastly you would focus on your car and mortgage.

The specific order will vary depending on if you’re using the debt snowball method or another method, but generally speaking, that’s a pretty common order of paying off debt.

Recommendations

Even though the Debt Snowball Method is a great way to make progress towards becoming debt free, there’s several things you can do to maximize your progress:

Write it Down

I’m a visual learner. While I was using the debt snowball method, I wrote down all my debts on a piece of paper and kept it on the coffee table. I updated the balances weekly and crossed out debts from that list as I paid them off.

This was a great motivator for me. I’ve also heard from many others that being able to cross off items off their list was what they needed to crush their debt as well.

Using a Debt Snowball Printable was really helpful for this purpose.

If there’s no space on your fridge surface (I know my fridge is prime real estate for pictures and my son’s works of art), or for those more technologically inclined, I recommend using a Debt Snowball Excel Calculator or the Debt Payoff App by Jackie Beck.

This amazing tool allows users to see exactly what effect each payment will have on their overall debt and how soon will they be debt free.

Best of all, it’s available on the go!

Learn more about the Debt Payoff App here!

Don’t Let Your Brain Get in the Way

If you love math, your brain is probably gonna fight you on this one.

I’m not gonna say that the debt snowball method is the way to go for absolutely everybody because we’re all different and perhaps you’ll feel more motivated by all the interest you’re saving using other methods.

However, I do recommend at least giving the debt snowball a try. See if it could work for your situation as well.

Tell Those Around You

Another great motivator to stay on track is to build a system of accountability.

These are a couple of individuals that know about your debt payoff goals. They can keep you accountable just by asking questions about how everything is going and if you’re staying on track.

Be a Copycat

Last but not least, download my free Quick Start Guide to Paying Off Debt! Copy the same steps that helped me pay off over $50K of debt on one income.

Instead of reinventing the wheel, just follow the simple, but effective, formula I used to become debt free once and for all!

After many years of being in debt up to my eyeballs, the debt snowball method gave me the motivation I needed to keep going. Eventually I became debt free.

Although some may have an issue with its math, this method truly works! It really keeps people on track to achieve their debt payoff goals.

What debt payoff method have you used? Would you recommend it? Why or why not? Share in the comments below!