Avalanche versus snowball: pick for the math or the motivation

Two debt-payoff strategies dominate the conversation. The avalanche method targets the highest interest rate first and minimises total interest paid; it is optimal on paper. The snowball method targets the smallest balance first and produces quick wins that keep you going. The right choice depends on which is your bottleneck. If you will stick to a spreadsheet regardless, choose avalanche. If motivation is the thing that breaks plans for you, the snowball's early wins are worth the small extra interest. Behaviour beats math when they conflict.