Flashback to 2018 when you borrowed $3,200 from your mom and dad to help with the cost of childcare…for a week. Now, every time you see (or group text) your parents, you get palpitations if you don’t bring up the fact that “yes, yes, 1000 times yes” you *will* pay them back by a yet-to-be determined date.
If this is the case, the emotional method for paying off debt may be right for you.
Introduced to us by Ashley Feinstein Gerstley, founder of the Fiscal Femme and author of The 30-Day Money Cleanse, the emotional method is the idea that, out of everything you owe (your mortgage, your CitiCard, your student loans), you prioritize paying back the debt that is causing you the most emotional stress first.
Here’s why: While the snowball method (where you pay off the smallest debt first) or avalanche approach (where you tackle the card with the highest APR ahead of the rest) may be more efficient and better for your overall bottom line, the emotional distress of a loan that’s hanging over your head isn’t worth it. Pay this debt back first—and fast.
