Financial News
From the Marine Corps to Main Street: The Debt Snowball's 1991 Software Origin
September 09, 2025 at 18:53 PM EDT
BOSTON - Sept. 9, 2025 - PRLog -- The "debt snowball" method has a history that goes back further than most people realize. In 1986, a U.S. military chaplain published an article describing the idea of rolling payments from one paid-off debt to the next. That article sparked an idea for then-Marine Sergeant Michael J. Riley.
By 1991, Riley had transformed the concept into one of the very first debt repayment software tools, releasing it to the public as Zilch. At the time, shareware was distributed on floppy disks and through bulletin board systems. Users could try the program and mail Riley a check if they wanted the full version.
Over the past 34 years, Riley's debt repayment software has helped more than 16,000 people eliminate $114 million in debt. His work represents one of the earliest technology applications of the debt snowball method, well before it became widely known.
"People sometimes assume the debt snowball started later," says Riley. "The truth is, I borrowed the idea from a chaplain who inspired me back in 1986. I simply turned it into software so anyone could see their own path out of debt."
Riley recently shared the full backstory on his blog: https://blog.zilchworks.com/debt-snowball-calculator-story/
Photos: (Click photo to enlarge)
Source: Michael Riley
Read Full Story - From the Marine Corps to Main Street: The Debt Snowball's 1991 Software Origin | More news from this source
Press release distribution by PRLog
More News
View More
Tesla's U.S. Market Is At An 8-Year Low... How Bad Could It Get?
Today 18:40 EDT
Congress: The Biggest Trades Impacting Markets Today
Today 17:41 EDT
3 Companies Boosting Buybacks While Others Pull Back
Today 16:33 EDT
Broadcom Gets Big Upgrades: How High Analysts See Shares Going
Today 15:10 EDT
It’s Time to Buy the Dip in Kroger Stock Price
Today 14:30 EDT
Stock Quote API & Stock News API supplied by www.cloudquote.io
Quotes delayed at least 20 minutes.
By accessing this page, you agree to the following
Privacy Policy and Terms Of Service.
Quotes delayed at least 20 minutes.
By accessing this page, you agree to the following
Privacy Policy and Terms Of Service.
