What is the snowball method for paying off debt?

The snowball method is a debt repayment strategy where you focus on paying off your smallest debt first while making minimum payments on all other debts. Once the smallest debt is eliminated, you take the money you were putting toward it and add it to the minimum payment of the next smallest debt, creating a growing "snowball" of payment power as each debt is cleared. The main advantage is psychological momentum. Paying off small debts quickly gives you a sense of accomplishment and motivation to keep going. The downside is that it may cost more in interest over time compared to the avalanche method, which targets high-interest debts first. The snowball method was popularized by personal finance expert Dave Ramsey.