A common piece of advice is to pay off the smallest debt first, regardless of its interest rate, so that the borrower sees a balance disappear early and stays motivated. Mathematically this is not the cheapest route: paying the highest interest rate first always costs less over the life of the debts. But financial counselors point out that budgets are kept by people, not spreadsheets, and a plan abandoned in month three saves nothing at all. The best plan, on this view, is not the one that minimizes interest but the one the borrower will actually finish.
Based on the passage, a financial counselor would most likely warn that the highest-interest-first method
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Correct answer to question 7 (Paragraph Comprehension): may be abandoned before it is finished
Method
The passage concedes that the highest-interest-first method is cheapest on paper, so the counselor's concern cannot be about cost. The stated worry is a plan abandoned in month three, which points to the risk of not finishing.
Updated: November 2026
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