Credit card debt in the UAE can feel like climbing a mountain that keeps getting steeper. You make payments every month, but the balance barely moves. Interest charges eat up most of your payment, leaving you frustrated and stuck.
Two popular strategies can help you climb out faster: the avalanche method and snowflake payments. Let me break down how each one works and which might fit your situation better.
Understanding the Avalanche Method
The avalanche method targets your highest interest rate cards first. You pay the minimum on all your cards, then throw every extra dirham at the card charging you the most interest.
Here’s why this makes sense. If one card charges 35% interest and another charges 20%, the first card costs you way more money over time. Killing the expensive debt first saves you the most cash.
Let’s say you have three cards in Dubai:
- Card A: AED 15,000 at 35% interest
- Card B: AED 10,000 at 25% interest
- Card C: AED 5,000 at 18% interest
With the avalanche method, you focus all extra payments on Card A first. Once that’s gone, you move to Card B, then finally Card C.
Why the Avalanche Method Works?
High-interest debt compounds quickly. Every month you carry that balance, interest gets added. Then next month, you pay interest on the interest. It’s a cycle that keeps you trapped.
By attacking the highest rate first, you stop the bleeding fastest. You reduce the total interest you’ll pay over the life of your debt. Mathematically, this approach saves you the most money.
People who stick with the avalanche method often pay off their debt management journey months or even years faster than other strategies. The savings can be thousands of dirhams.
What Are Snowflake Payments?
Snowflake payments work completely differently. Instead of one big strategy, you make tiny extra payments whenever you find money. Think of each small payment as a snowflake; alone, it’s nothing, but together they add up.
Do you get a small bonus at work? That’s a snowflake payment to your card. You skip buying lunch out and save AED 40? Another snowflake. You sell something you don’t need? Snowflake.
These random, small payments happen throughout the month, not just on your payment due date. Every time you have extra cash, you send it straight to your credit card balance.
The Psychology Behind Snowflakes
Snowflake payments create momentum. You see your balance dropping more frequently, which feels encouraging. Instead of waiting until month-end to make one payment, you might make five or ten small ones.
This approach works well for people who need to see progress quickly. The frequent wins keep you motivated to find more money to throw at your debt.
You also start looking at spending differently. When you’re actively hunting for snowflakes, you become more aware of waste. That coffee you don’t really need? It could be an AED 20 payment instead.
Combining Both Strategies
Here’s what many debt relief experts suggest: use both methods together. The avalanche method tells you which card to target. Snowflake payments give you more ammunition to attack that card.
Focus your snowflakes on the highest interest card, just like the avalanche method requires. But instead of waiting for your monthly budget to free up extra cash, you send money whenever you find it. This combination hits your expensive debt hard and often. You get the mathematical benefit of the avalanche approach plus the psychological boost of constant progress.
