Debt Snowball vs Debt Avalanche

Before we compare solutions, let's understand the enemy. The typical debt portfolio looks like this: credit cards charging eighteen to twenty-five percent interest. Student loans at five to seven percent. Car loans around six percent. Maybe a personal loan or medical debt thrown in.

Here's what makes debt so destructive: interest doesn't sleep. While you're working, sleeping, or watching Netflix, interest is accumulating. On a twenty-thousand-dollar credit card balance at twenty-two percent interest, making minimum payments, you'll pay over thirty-three thousand dollars total. That's thirteen thousand dollars just evaporating into interest.

This is why minimum payments are a trap. They're designed to keep you in debt for decades. The credit card companies? They're counting on it.

So you need a strategy. Not just any strategy, but one you'll actually stick to. Because the perfect plan you abandon is worthless compared to the good plan you complete.

Now, let's meet our two contenders.

The Debt Snowball was popularized by financial guru Dave Ramsey, and it's beautifully simple. You list all your debts from smallest balance to largest, completely ignoring the interest rates.

[VISUAL CUE: List appearing: $500, $1,200, $3,500, $8,000, $15,000]

You make minimum payments on everything except the smallest debt. Every extra dollar you can scrape together? It goes to that tiny five-hundred-dollar medical bill.

[VISUAL CUE: Money flowing to smallest debt, growing larger]

Here's where it gets interesting. When that first debt is gone, you take its minimum payment PLUS your extra payments, and roll it all into the next smallest debt.

[VISUAL CUE: Snowball rolling downhill, getting bigger]

The snowball is rolling. When debt two is eliminated, you're throwing even MORE money at debt three. By the time you reach your biggest debt, you're attacking it with a massive payment that would've seemed impossible at the start.

[VISUAL CUE: Giant snowball crushing the largest debt]

The psychology is powerful. Paying off that first debt might only take two months. Suddenly, you're a debt-slayer. You got a WIN. That victory releases dopamine in your brain, the same chemical that keeps people hooked on video games.

[VISUAL CUE: Checkmarks appearing, celebration icons]

Quick wins create momentum. Momentum creates motivation. Motivation keeps you going when your friends invite you out and you have to say, "I'm on a debt payoff journey."

The Snowball is about behavior change, not mathematics.

SECTION 3: THE DEBT AVALANCHE METHOD (3:45 - 5:15) - 225 words

[VISUAL CUE: Mountain peak with avalanche forming]

The Debt Avalanche takes a different approach. This is math's answer to debt. You list your debts by interest rate, highest to lowest. Balances don't matter.

[VISUAL CUE: List appearing: 24.99%, 19.99%, 12%, 6.5%, 4%]

That twenty-four-point-nine-nine percent credit card? Even if it has the biggest balance, it's enemy number one. You make minimum payments on everything else and attack the highest interest rate with extreme prejudice.

[VISUAL CUE: Money laser-focused on highest interest debt]

Why? Because that high-interest debt is costing you the most money every single day. Every dollar you pay toward a twenty-five percent interest rate saves you twenty-five cents per year in interest. Compare that to paying extra on a four percent student loan, you're only saving four cents per year per dollar.

[VISUAL CUE: Comparison showing money saved with avalanche]

The math is undeniable. The Avalanche method will save you more money and get you out of debt faster than the Snowball. We're talking potentially thousands of dollars in interest savings.

[VISUAL CUE: Calculator showing savings comparison]

For example, let's say you have thirty thousand in various debts. With the Avalanche method, you might save fifteen hundred dollars in interest and get out of debt six months earlier compared to the Snowball.

[VISUAL CUE: Side-by-side comparison showing finish lines]

On paper, it's the clear winner. But here's the problem: humans aren't calculators. We're emotional creatures. That highest-interest debt is often the largest balance. It might take a year or more to eliminate.

[VISUAL CUE: Person looking discouraged, checking progress]

A year of sacrifice with no victory? That's where people quit.

SECTION 4: THE REAL COMPARISON (5:15 - 7:00) - 260 words

[VISUAL CUE: Split screen showing both methods side by side]

So which is actually better? Let's get real.

The Debt Avalanche wins mathematically. Period. If you're highly disciplined, motivated by spreadsheets, and can delay gratification, it's your method. You'll save the most money.

[VISUAL CUE: Avalanche side showing dollar signs, savings]

But research tells a different story about success rates. A study from Northwestern University found that people using the Snowball method were more likely to eliminate their debts completely. Why? Those small wins early on.

[VISUAL CUE: Snowball side showing completion checkmarks, happy person]

Here's the truth financial purists hate: the best method is the one you'll actually finish. Saving two thousand dollars with the Avalanche means nothing if you quit after eight months. Paying an extra thousand in interest with the Snowball is worth it if you actually become debt-free.

[VISUAL CUE: Finish line with person celebrating]

Think about your personality. Are you motivated by logic or emotion? Do you need quick wins, or can you play the long game? Have you tried paying off debt before and failed? If so, why did you quit?

[VISUAL CUE: Mirror reflection, person thinking]

Consider your debt profile too. If your debts are similar in size, the Snowball and Avalanche might be nearly identical. If there's a massive difference between your highest and lowest interest rates, the Avalanche savings increase.

[VISUAL CUE: Debt comparison charts]

Here's a hybrid approach: start with the Snowball to build momentum. Knock out one or two small debts fast. Then, once you've proven to yourself you can do this, switch to the Avalanche to maximize savings on your larger remaining debts.

[VISUAL CUE: Path starting with snowball, transitioning to avalanche]

Best of both worlds. Early wins plus long-term savings.

SECTION 5: ACTION STEPS (7:00 - 8:30) - 225 words

[VISUAL CUE: Checklist appearing]

Ready to start? Here's your action plan.

Step One: List every debt you owe. Balance, interest rate, minimum payment. Everything. You can't fight an enemy you haven't identified.

[VISUAL CUE: Notebook with debts being written]

Step Two: Choose your method. Be honest with yourself. Do you need quick wins, or are you motivated by maximum efficiency?

[VISUAL CUE: Two doors labeled "Snowball" and "Avalanche"]

Step Three: Find extra money. Cancel subscriptions you don't use. Pack lunch instead of buying it. Sell stuff collecting dust. That side hustle you've been thinking about? Start it. Every extra hundred dollars monthly shaves months off your timeline.

[VISUAL CUE: Money being found in various places, flowing to debt payment]

Step Four: Automate your payments. Remove the decision fatigue. Set up automatic transfers the day after payday. Make it impossible to "accidentally" spend your debt money.

[VISUAL CUE: Calendar with automatic payments marked]

Step Five: Track your progress visibly. Create a chart on your wall. Color in a thermometer as you pay down debt. Make it satisfying. Make it real.

[VISUAL CUE: Progress chart being filled in, visual celebration]

Step Six: Find accountability. Tell someone your goal. Join an online community. When it's three months in and you want to quit, you'll need people who understand.

[VISUAL CUE: Support group, people encouraging each other]

And remember: this isn't permanent. The sacrifice phase is temporary. Debt freedom is forever.

OUTRO (8:30 - 9:00) - 85 words

[VISUAL CUE: Sun rising over mountain, person at peak]

Here's what nobody tells you about debt payoff: it changes more than your bank account. It changes how you see yourself. You become someone who finishes what they start. Someone who makes hard choices. Someone who doesn't let circumstances control their future.

[VISUAL CUE: Confident person, chains breaking]

Debt Snowball or Debt Avalanche? The right answer is the one that gets you to the finish line.

[VISUAL CUE: Both paths leading to same summit - FREEDOM]

Your debt-free life is waiting. Now go get it.

[END SCREEN: "Which method will YOU choose? Start today."]