<prompt> Human: In college I got into the bad habit of maxing out my credit card during the school year, knowing that I would pay it off easily after working a summer job. After graduating no school debt thank goodness, this pattern continued, enabled by the extremely seasonal nature of where I live, where income and rent is extremely low in the winter and very high in the summer. A few years ago, I got rid of my debt and committed to putting 100 a month into USAA mutual funds. However last year my discipline failed and 4000 of credit card debt snuck up on me again. I recently stopped my monthly automatic deposit into my mutual funds which are now just over 4000.So, do I empty my mutual funds to pay off my credit card and start from scratch? It seems like the logical thing to do since I am paying 36month of interest and Im not making 36month off my mutual funds. But this would feel like a defeat, since when I invested that money my intention was to never spend it. Should I just borrow the 4000 from my funds interest free and set up a plan to pay myself back? This will take more discipline. Also, the summer season is just starting which means Ill soon have a cash inflow over the next few months and can start to pay it down. Keeping it down in the winter when funds dry up is the hard part. A little background...Im a late 20s female, I live with my SO of 6 years who covers most of our expenses phone, food, utilities, transportation and in exchange I help him run his self-employed business. He also pays me for specific work on jobs, which is on a seasonal basis, so I make about 12,000 in the summer. I used to have my own job and clients but I prefer to focus on my SOs business. I have no other income, no other debts and thankfully few expenses. Rent also fluctuates with the seasons. We have been saving money living at his familys property for barter this winter, but last summer we had to pay 10,000 upfront for 3 months rent split. The amount I could possibly pay down on my credit card will partly depend on if we have to pay this kind of summer rent again or can find a better locals deal. Weve considered getting a more stable year round rental, but with his business we travel so much in the winter that it doesnt make sense to pay for an empty home.Any tips for breaking out of a seasonal cycle of highs and lows when you make 90 of your income in only a few months? Ive just started using YNAB for my and my SOs finances, but instead of trying to get one month ahead it seems like well have to get one summer ahead.If Ive missed any important details let me know, this is my first post to PF and Ive tried to stick to the basics here, didnt want to blab on and on...Thanks!  <response>: Yeah just pay off the cards. Its a simple math question, and youve already done the calculation. If it makes you feel any better, find some way to categorize it as a loan from yourself and be just as dedicated about paying it back. Thats only psychological though. The reality is that with 4k debt and 4k assets, you had zero net worth before or after, so you might as well own up to it and be happy that at least you were not net negative.If your income is seasonal, then you must plan further ahead. You still do the monthly budgets in YNAB, but pay into budget categories prior to actually needing the money, so it is there when you need it. E.g. start saving for the summer rent a year in advance. 