🔎 Disclosure: WE DON’T SELL ANY COURSES. Money Vice is reader-supported. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. The ideas presented on this site are opinions and are presented for entertainment purposes only. We’re not licensed financial advisors. The information presented should not be construed as financial or legal advice. Always do your own due diligence.
1. You’re Starting Without a Budget
Have you ever tried building a house without a floor plan?
That’s basically what happens when you start the Debt Snowball Method without a budget.
You’re rolling your “snowball,” but it’s melting before it even leaves the driveway.
Without a clear idea of where your money’s going, your payments become random guesses instead of a real strategy.
And let’s be honest. If you don’t tell your money where to go, it’ll find a way to disappear faster than a cold drink on a Miami afternoon.
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Open a free budgeting app like Rocket Money, track every expense this week, and use that info to set exact monthly payment goals for each debt.
📌 SAVE IT FOR LATER! 📌
2. You Don’t Prioritize Your Debts Right
Here’s the classic mistake: paying off random debts just because one feels “annoying.”
The Debt Snowball Method works because it focuses on the smallest balances first, not the ones that make you roll your eyes the most.
But when you mix that up, your motivation crashes faster than your Wi-Fi during a Zoom call.
You lose the sense of progress that makes this system so powerful.
And without those quick wins, paying off debt starts to feel like running uphill in flip-flops.
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: List every debt from smallest to largest balance using a free tool like Undebt.it, and commit to attacking the tiniest one first for that early confidence boost.
3. You Don’t Track Your Spending
This one’s sneaky. Like when you swear you’ll “just grab a coffee,” and somehow you end up buying lunch, dessert, and a reusable straw you’ll never use.
If you’re not tracking your spending, your debt payoff plan becomes pure guesswork.
You can’t fix what you can’t see, right?
Even $10 a day spent carelessly can quietly sabotage your snowball before payday even hits.
The key is awareness, not restriction. Knowing where every dollar goes gives you total control over your progress.
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Use your phone’s notes app or link your bank to Rocket Money to automatically track and review your weekly spending habits.
Bonus Tip: Make Tracking Your Progress Feel Rewarding
You know that satisfying feeling when you see your debt number drop even a little?
That tiny win is like fuel for your motivation. And without it, the journey feels endless.
Here’s the thing: most people give up not because the method doesn’t work, but because they can’t see their progress clearly.
That’s why using a simple tool to track every payment visually can make all the difference.
With Undebt.it, you can plug in your debts, choose your payoff method, and literally watch your balances fall month after month. It’s like turning debt payoff into a personal scoreboard.
People who use it often say seeing their balances shrink on the dashboard keeps them fired up way longer than any spreadsheet ever could.
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Sign up for Undebt.it (free to start), enter your balances, pick the “Debt Snowball” plan, and check your progress weekly to stay consistent and motivated.
4. You Add New Debt While Paying Off Old Ones
This one’s like trying to lose weight while eating cake every night.
You can’t crush debt if you keep swiping your card for stuff you don’t need.
That new “just this once” expense adds up, and suddenly, your snowball starts rolling backward.
It’s easy to justify. “I’ll pay it off next month”. But that’s the trap.
Debt freedom requires momentum, and every new charge is like throwing ice cubes in your engine.
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Freeze your credit cards (literally, if you have to) and switch to using a debit card or cash only until all balances hit zero.
5. You Don’t Know Your Exact Balances
If you don’t know your exact balances, you’re basically fighting an invisible enemy.
You can’t measure your progress if you don’t even know the starting point.
And when you avoid looking at the numbers, the anxiety only grows. Like ignoring your phone bill until the “final notice” hits.
Knowing the exact figures makes every payment satisfying, like watching a scoreboard drop closer to zero.
Tracking balances keeps your brain in “game mode,” which is exactly where you need to be to win.
👉 Here's How You'll Do It: Log into each account tonight, write down every balance in a notebook or plug them into Undebt.it, and update it monthly to stay fired up.
📌 SAVE IT FOR LATER! 📌
And that’s it!
Never forget it…
🍔 A Bigger Bank Account Is Waiting For You!
😉 Dale!
