Pay off your highest-interest debt first to minimize total interest paid - see your full avalanche payoff timeline.
The debt avalanche method directs all extra payments toward your highest-interest debt first, while paying minimums on everything else. Mathematically, this minimizes the total interest you'll pay over time.
Debts are sorted by interest rate, highest first. Interest accrues monthly on each balance, and extra payments go entirely to the highest-rate remaining debt.
A 22% card gets attacked before a 15% loan, even if the loan balance is smaller - this minimizes total interest paid versus paying off smaller balances first.
You pay minimums on all debts but put extra money toward the debt with the highest interest rate first, then move to the next-highest once it's paid off.
By eliminating the highest-interest debt first, you minimize the total interest paid over time compared to other payoff orders.
It simulates monthly payments across all your debts, applying extra payment to the highest-rate debt until each is fully paid off in turn.