How to Select the Ideal Debt Reduction Strategy: Snowball vs. Avalanche

debt avalanche

Debt can be a significant burden, weighing heavily on your financial well-being and plans. Whether it’s credit card debt, student loans, or personal loans, finding an effective strategy to tackle it is crucial. Two popular methods, the debt snowball and the debt avalanche, offer different approaches to debt repayment. In this article, we’ll dive into the details of each strategy, helping you determine which one aligns best with your financial goals and personal preferences. Understanding the Debt Snowball Method The debt snowball method, popularized by personal finance guru Dave Ramsey, focuses on building momentum and generating quick wins. Here’s how it works: The debt snowball method provides psychological motivation by allowing you to celebrate small victories as you eliminate debts … Read more

Best Way to Save for Retirement When You Are in Debt

Escape the Weight of Your Crushing Debt

Getting (and staying) out of debt and saving regularly for retirement are some of the most important personal financial habits that everyone should be doing, but having a finite income with conflicting financial priorities understandably complicates matters. If you have student loans, a running balance on your credit cards, or other outstanding debts in the 4+ figures range, how should you balance your debt repayment plan (short-term goal) with your retirement savings plan (long-term goal)? What is the best way to save for retirement when you are in debt? Best Way to Save for Retirement When You Are in Debt The answer to this ultimately depends on the amount of debt and the interest rate you’re paying. Still, a generally … Read more

Top 4 Simple Ways How to Better Manage Your Medical Debts

Benefits of a health savings account

A survey of 20 million Credit Karma members conducted in summer 2020 found over $45 billion of medical debt in collections. Previous studies on medical debt have found that hospital bills are typically the #1 cause of personal bankruptcy in the U.S. In the wake of a global pandemic that hit Americans particularly hard – in terms of job losses and skyrocketing hospital bills – the issue of medical debts will likely become more prominent in public conversations in the years to come. How to Better Manage Your Medical Debts If you’ve received an astonishingly expensive medical bill before or you’re currently agonizing over how to repay outstanding medical debts, there are some strategies you can try without having to … Read more

Top 7 Ways Not to Go into Debt this Christmas

How to Avoid Debt this Christmas

If things are rough this year for your family, that doesn’t mean that you should add to your debt this Christmas to make up for it this holiday season. It is okay to tell your children that Santa is broke this year. They probably already know that something is up, or they have an incredible sixth sense about how grownups are feeling. 7 Ways Not To Go Into Debt This Christmas One of the worst things that you can do though is trying to keep up with the status quo. Here are seven great ways to avoid adding to your debt this Christmas. Use Your Credit Card Reward Points My wife and I love to earn reward points with our … Read more

What Is a Debt Avalanche Method of Debt Repayment?

Use a debt snowball to pay off your debt.

Staying out of debt is much more difficult than accumulating debt for many adults, especially when we have social media and innovative new forms of advertising pressuring us to spend, spend, spend on a near-daily basis. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the current statistics on Americans and debt are pretty abysmal: 55% of Americans with credit card(s) have debt U.S. households added $26 billion in credit card debt during the last 3 months of 2018 alone Approximately 10% of Americans with credit cards have balances of $5,000 or higher The average APR on a credit card is 17.73% If you’re part of any of these stats and want to get out of debt as quickly as possible without abandoning all comforts and little … Read more

Tally Review – An Automated Debt Manager in a Smartphone App

Note – I’m an affiliate of Tally. While all of the opinions are my own (like always), but I’ll receive a small commission if you slick on a link and choose to sign up. These commissions help keep Money Q&A going. Wouldn’t it be great if there was a magical calculator that told you exactly how much you needed to pay towards what cards/loans in order to stretch your dollar furthest? Surprise: it already exists in the form of an automated debt management app called Tally. Commonly described as a “robo-advisor for credit card debt,” Tally has become enormously popular with consumers juggling multiple credit cards and loans because this nifty app makes debt repayments a breeze. Rather than having … Read more