If you're looking to shave down your debt, the "snowflake" method helps you relentlessly whittle your debt away with prioritized micro-payments. Photo by active metabolite.

What is snowflaking? First a point of reference. "Snowballing" is a popular method of paying off debt championed by financial adviser Dave Ramsey, where the payments from debts you've finished paying off are rolling into the payments for the next debt on your list, creating an ever-growing pool of money to rapidly pay down debt. Many people have found the snowball method effective at helping them get out from overwhelming debt and get a handle on their personal finances.

The snowflake method is a twist on the snowball method of debt repayment. In addition to ranking and downhill-paying your debts, you use micro-payments to accelerate the pay off. Every time you score a little extra money from anywhere—selling something on Craigslist, extra money from a side job, quarterly bonus at work, money left over in your budget at the end of the month—you immediately pay a little extra on the debt a