You’ve most likely heard of the snowy debt strategies popular in the personal finance lexicon. The Debt Avalanche and Debt Snowball approaches have been used by thousands of people to shovel themselves out from under large amounts of money. The question is which strategy is right for you, and what other snowy alternatives might you have?

We’ll get into these, but first a little background on my own personal debt winter. I was fortunate to experience a relatively mild winter by comparison to many my age. My student loan debt totaled just over $20,000 and lasted into my late 20s, and the darkest day of this winter came due to my own poor attentiveness. The groundhog failed to see his shadow on the day that I learned of an additional $5,000 deferred loan, just when the end of my winter appeared near.

My relationship with debt had been ingrained since childhood. I grew up with an aversion to credit cards, which I’ve since gotten over upon discovering credit card rewards. In any case I have always paid my credit card bill off on time and in full. I paid cash for a used car in college without realizing how fortunate I was not to have a car payment like many of my friends.

Without ever hearing the terms before, I relied on a little bit of both the Snowball and Avalanche methods to end my winter. My main focus was to chip away at the loans with the highest interest rate (in my case 6.7%) as the Avalanche method suggests. At the same time, I threw a few Snowballs to eliminate smaller debts despite their lower interest rates when they were within my Snowball-throwing range. This provided the occasional psychological boost that Dave Ramsey and many others suggest.

Debt Avalanche or Debt Snowball?

Which approach is the right one? In terms of efficiency, there’s no doubt that the Debt Avalanche makes the most sense, since the higher interest rates are of course costing you more money. But as Debt Snowball enthusiasts will point out, surviving your winter can be just as much of a mental war as a financial one. Sometimes you just need a win.

But hey, why limit ourselves to just two strategies? There’s more to melting away debt than a Debt Avalanche or Debt Snowball approach. Like snowflakes, no two debt situations are exactly alike. Let’s consider a few alternatives. Lucky for us, there’s no shortage of cheeky snow-related terms we can try to make stick like a tongue to a frosty pole.

Debt Avalanche

The Debt Avalanche urges you to pay off debts with the highest interest rates. These are most commonly credit card debts ranging in the upper teens and even low 20s. Get rid of these ASAP. Any debts over 10 percent are too steep a price for the psychological boost you’d get from eliminating a smaller debt with the snowball method.

Debt Snowball

The Debt Snowball says to pay off the smallest debts first, regardless of interest rate. This benefits the psyche more than the wallet, but the argument can be made that they are equally important during the debt of winter. But again, if you’re paying double-digit interest rates, try to stomp your feet and cause an Avalanche.

Debt Thaw

The above methods include making minimum payments on all debts, so you don’t incur further late fees and interest accruals. The Debt Thaw, however, is simply doing nothing and waiting for Spring to arrive. This is not a strategy I would be comfortable with, or recommend. But believe it or not, it is a strategy of sorts. People with tens of thousands of dollars in private loans are relying on patience and persistence to melt away their Ice Age.

When private loans aren’t recouped, they’re often sold to other debt collection agencies. And then sold again. And again. With time and a few harassing phone calls, you may be offered a buyout of your original loan at a price much lower than the cost of the current debt. For example, you could be offered a lump sum of $20,000 to get out of a debt worth close to $100,000. If you can pay the lump sum and get out from under it, you may be able to get out of this tremendous burden. But the Debt Thaw is a stressful way to live.

Another form of Debt Thaw could involve simply making the minimum payments and waiting for new legislation in the form of debt forgiveness. More specifically, this could apply to student loan debt. Again, not my recommendation, and not something you can rely on, but this is a strategy of sorts that I know some people are employing. Hope Springs eternal.

Debt Sleet

Debt Sleet involves paying off debt while also contributing to investment accounts and a, pardon me, snowy day fund. So you’re doing a little bit of everything. This is the strategy I wish I would have utilized while paying off my own debt during a bull market.

Debt Blizzard

The Debt Blizzard involves using a lump sum inheritance or one-time bonus entirely toward debt. This is easier said than done when unexpected money falls into your hands. The temptation is always to treat yourself to something new instead of working to eliminate something borrowed. To help motivate you to applying this approach, tracking your net worth can really make you feel the impact of ridding yourself from your liabilities. If you’re the recipient of an unexpected sum, try to send at least half to your creditors and enjoy the rest for yourself.

Debt Igloo

Here’s an easy one for those who prefer their debt in the form of a mortgage. When you live inside your own debt, you’ve got yourself a nice, cozy Debt Igloo. This isn’t exactly a strategy, but making regular mortgage payments will eventually get you out from under your icy burden. The more equity you build up in your igloo, the more you can borrow against your house for even more debt!

Debt Snowman

The Debt Snowman involves consolidating multiple debts into one friendly face. As long as you don’t mind it peering at you from just outside your window. By rolling the head, torso and bottom of your debts into one top-hat wearing payment, you may be able to lower your interest rate and feel more organized and on top of your financial situation. In the right situation, this makes financial and psychological sense. Just be careful it doesn’t come to life one day due to a few missed payments.

End Your Debt Winter

Will one of these new snowy debt strategy phrases enter the personal finance lexicon forever? I doubt that. But here’s a goal for you: try to get yourself out of debt before you hear the term Debt Igloo on CNBC. In any case, don’t limit yourself to the Debt Avalanche or Debt Snowball approach.

And when you have no payments to go, debt it snow, debit it snow, debt it snow.