After you’ve added your debts, the next step is choosing a payoff strategy. Your strategy determines the order in which Snowball directs your money toward each debt, which shapes your payoff timeline, your total interest cost, and how quickly you experience the motivation of eliminating individual balances. Snowball supports two proven strategies: the debt snowball and the debt avalanche.
Not sure which to pick? Start with the snowball. You can always switch to the avalanche later once you’ve built the habit.
How to choose a strategy
Navigate to the Strategy section
After adding your debts, go to the Strategy section on your dashboard.
Review the two options
Read through the descriptions for Debt Snowball and Debt Avalanche to understand how each one orders your debts.
Select Debt Snowball to build momentum
Choose Debt Snowball if you want to pay off your smallest balance first. Each time you eliminate a debt, you roll that payment into the next one, creating momentum as you go.
Select Debt Avalanche to save the most money
Choose Debt Avalanche if you want to pay off your highest interest rate first. This approach minimizes the total interest you pay over time.
Review your updated plan
Snowball instantly recalculates your payoff order and projected debt-free date based on your selection. Review the updated schedule to see how your choice affects your timeline.
Comparing your options
Debt Snowball
Debt Avalanche
The debt snowball orders your debts from smallest balance to largest, regardless of interest rate. You put any extra money toward the smallest debt while paying minimums on everything else. When that debt is gone, you roll its payment to the next smallest.This approach produces quick wins — paying off a debt feels significant, and those early victories help you stay consistent.Choose the snowball if you’ve struggled to stick with a payoff plan in the past. The psychological momentum from early wins makes a real difference.
The debt avalanche orders your debts from highest interest rate to lowest. You put any extra money toward the most expensive debt first, which reduces the total interest you pay across all your debts.This approach is mathematically optimal — if you follow it consistently, you’ll pay less interest and potentially finish faster than with the snowball.Choose the avalanche if you’re motivated by numbers and want to minimize the total cost of your debt. It requires patience before you see the first debt paid off, but the savings are real.
Switching strategies
You can change your strategy at any time — your decision isn’t permanent. If you started with the snowball and want to switch to the avalanche, go to the Strategy section and select the new option. Snowball updates your payoff order and recalculates your projected debt-free date instantly.
Your payment history is preserved when you switch. Only the future payoff order changes.
For a deeper look at how each strategy works and how to decide between them, see Payoff strategies explained.