[squirlma]

I have been struggling with the same question. We used to have considerable savings, but after my husband had some medical problems, which resulted in extra bills, on top of him being out of work for a little while, and having all this happen right after putting a lot of money into my new business, our savings has pretty much disappeared. Instead of having savings, we are now in debt, (for the first time in my life) and it is driving me crazy. My first impulse was to put any available $$$ toward the debt, but then I realized that I would be forced to use credit if anything unexpected came up. I decided to save up at least $1000, and after that split any available dollars between savings and credit card debt. If I can ever manage to get the savings up to $3,000, then I will direct all available dollars to the credit card debt. I think it is a good plan. I'm sure there are some that would argue that those dollars would be put to better use paying off debt, but I feel better knowing there is at least a little in the bank for unexpected expenses. (My savings are taking a beating this month, as our central air conditioning went out, and my son has to have his wisdom teeth removed, but I think persistence will pay off.) Hope this helps some.