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Dont Save When You Have Debt.
 Human beings are funny animals. We don't always do whats right for us - rather, we do what feels best, and try to blank out any reasons why it may not be the best thing to do. Perhaps that's why there are so many people who have both savings and debts.
Its an Issue of Psychology.
Sure, it makes you feel better to have savings. Saving feels like you're building a foundation for your future, whilst paying off your debts makes you feel like you're throwing your money into a hole. That money is for the kids future, or for improving your house, or whatever else - and it's in an bank account making a useful rate of interest. What could be unreasonable about that? Lots, if you owe money.
Dont Be Fooled.
There are virtually no savings accounts that will let you have interest rates anywhere near as high as the ones credit cards take from you. Heres food for thought: if you have $10,000 in a savings account realising 5% a year and $5,000 on a credit card at an interest rate of 20% per year, how much money do you have? After just five years, the answer is effectively nada - what you owe would have grown to as much as $12,500, the equal sum of money that your savings are currently worth.
You may not imagine it at present, but it actually is a great deal better to pay off your debts. If you used one half of your savings to pay off that debt, youd be in such a better situation that it's truly astonishing. You avoid five years of compound interest on the debt, but you still get to hang on to $5,000 in your savings account, bringing in interest - after five years, that's roughly $6,380.
If youd still rather keep your savings intact instead of using them to pay off your debts, ask yourself this elementary question: is your pride worth $6,380 of your familys hard cash?
Consider Your Financial Health.
When you get enough money to pay off your debt, theres absolutely no earthly reason to keep it. Debt is for people who don't have the money, and have to borrow it. Debt costs money, and savings make money - you want as much of your finances as possible to be savings, not debts. If your savings account and credit card are with the same savings bank, then youre effectively paying for the privilege of borrowing your own money from them. Why on earth would you do that?
There are additional advantages to paying off your debt with your own savings. Youll be less stressed about your debts, and your credit report will show that you were able to pay everything back - resulting in getting you a much better interest rate if you ever need to go into debt again.
I know it can be hard. You just need to be mindful that any cash you've saved hasnt actually been saved at all. Its money you ought to have been spending rather than buying things with a credit card. Yes, it feels much worse to spend money thinking that youre spending away your future - but always remember that when you use a credit card to spend that same money, youre spending away your future, plus interest. In any case, if you've got the debt, then those savings have already been spent - stop denying it to yourself.
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