<prompt> Human: We saved some money to go on a fairly nice vacation.But a few weeks before we were to leave, we had to replace my wifes car; between the down payment and sales tax, it was a not-insubstantial chunk of change. So that ate into our savings more than I was expecting.But, stupid as we are... We decide, we havent been on vacation in 3 years, so well enjoy ourselves. And we did... Perhaps a little too much.Long story short, our credit card balance now exceeds our savings account balance. Were not talking about an obscene amount that were in the hole, but were still in the hole.My wife and I now have a fundamental disagreement on how to proceed.My view is, drain the savings account entirely to pay the credit card as much as possible, pay the remaining balance as fast as we can, then build the savings account back up. After all, the credit cards APR is much higher than the savings accounts APY; why ensure well be paying more unnecessary interest?Her view is, its always good to have some money in savings for an emergency; dont drain it entirely, which will of course mean we pay the card off slower but our savings balance wont be 0.My counterpoint is, who doesnt take credit these days? Any subsequent emergency can be put on the credit card. Her method results in the GUARANTEE of additional interest accruing on the card. My method results in the POSSIBILITY of interest being accrued on the card, if theres an emergency.I guess I should mention we were hoping to sell our house in the spring, but thats currently looking unlikely given current circumstances. I dont know if that changes anything.So... Whos right?I know variations on this question are probably popular, but I didnt see anything in the FAQ. Sorry if I missed something.  <response>: Can you find a compromise in the middle? Decide on the lowest number you can stomach for an emergency fund, and put the rest to the credit cards.Your logic is valid, and so is your wifes. A credit card is not an emergency fund because you cant reliably expect that your line of credit will always exist. At the same time, paying credit card interest is to be avoided if at all possible.Another option would be a balance transfer to a 0 intro card, which would allow you more leeway in paying off the balance while maintaining some cash in your account. Chase Slate is a popular option. Of course, you need to be extremely careful that you dont run up any more debt if you do this. 