If you're carrying balances on multiple debts and want to work on paying them down, you can follow two widely used strategies. You can either pay off the debt with the highest interest rate first or pay off the one with the smallest balance first. Here's how to decide between the two approaches:

If saving money is your priority, focus on paying off the debt charging the highest interest rate. Pay as much as you can each month toward that debt while making minimum payments on all others. Once you've paid off your highest-rate debt, add the freed-up payment amount to what you've been putting toward the debt with the next highest rate, and so forth, until you've paid off all your debts.

If you want a quick psychological "boost" from paying off a debt more quickly, you can focus first on the one with the smallest balance. Pay as much as you can toward that debt while making minimum payments on the others. Once you've paid off the first debt, you can either move on to the one with the next-smallest balance, or you can pay off your remaining debts in the order of highest-to-lowest interest rate.

Financially, you're typically better off focusing on paying off your highest-rate debt. In most cases, this will save you more money over time. For help with this strategy, use the Snowball Debt Elimination calculator on your EY Navigate™ website.

This material is provided solely for educational purposes; it does not take into account any specific individual facts and circumstances. It is not intended, and should not be relied upon, as tax, accounting, or legal advice.