| Smallest-balance-first / snowball | Which otherwise affordable debt receives extra money first? | Comparable remaining balances; minimums; a genuinely available extra-payment amount; workable continuation assumptions. | C003–C004, C006–C007, C010–C012; S002 p.2 and S013 worksheet Steps 1–3.
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+1 | A best national method; measured motivation; lowest cost in every case; safety of diverting money from essentials. |
| Highest-interest-first / avalanche shorthand | Which extra-payment target serves an interest-cost objective? | Rates and their applicable periods; balances; minimums; fees and rate-change terms; allocation and timing assumptions. | C003, C005, C008–C011; S002 p.2. The historical wording’s unsecured qualification is C013.
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+1 | A complete optimizer for every contract; an instruction to disregard security or legal status; an actual allocation rule. |
| Consequence-based bill triage | What needs protection when available resources cannot cover everything? | The obligations involved; essential-needs and earning-capacity dependencies; applicable consequence evidence; timing and uncertainty. | C018–C024; S003 pp.1–3.
files.consumerfinance.gov | A fixed federal hierarchy, immunity, a safe missed-payment interval, or an actual legal outcome. |
| Cash-flow-calendar management | Is money unavailable at the needed time, and would an authorized timing change help? | Opening usable resources, expected receipts, outflows, due dates, processing information and actual change terms. | C025–C041; S005, S007–S010 and S014.
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+2 | That rearranging dates cures a sustained deficit; that a proposed date is effective; that published planning buffers guarantee timely credit. |
| Reserve and periodic-expense planning | How should unplanned shocks and known future bills be represented before treating money as extra? | A chosen purpose, available resources, uncertainty and access restrictions. | C036, C044–C047; S009, S011–S012.
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+2 | One required reserve amount, protected status, a universal debt-versus-saving ratio, or assured access to funds. |