Offer your thoughts or opinion on the input financial query or topic using your financial background.

Why would anyone want to pay off their debts in a way other than “highest interest” first?
Very good Ben, in a more simplistic form:  If debt was about math only, we would not have payday lenders, 21% + credit cards, or sub-prime car loans.  Yet these things are prevalent. Debt reduction is often about behavior modification.  As such small wins are necessary to keep going much like a 12 step program; or, gamification as Ben pointed out.   The funny thing is that if a person becomes and stays intense on a debt reduction program, interest rate "inefficiency" is dwarfed by extra income or increased austerity.