A debt repayment strategy where, after making minimum payments on everything, all extra money goes toward the debt with the highest interest rate first, then the next-highest once that's paid off — mathematically minimizing total interest paid.
Not all debt costs the same to carry — a credit card at 22% interest is bleeding you far faster than a car loan at 6%. The avalanche method says: ignore the balance size, ignore how good it'll feel to close an account, and just go after whichever debt is charging you the most interest, every time. It's the mathematically optimal order, even if it's not always the most motivating one.
With a $2,000 balance at 22% and a $5,000 balance at 8%, avalanche puts every spare dollar toward the $2,000 card first — despite it being the smaller balance — because that 22% is costing far more per dollar owed than the 8% loan.
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