<prompt> Human: I can either pay the whole thing, wipe my savings and start over, or keep paying monthly as it accrues interest. My monthly minimums are about 75-90 and I usually pay at least 100 per month towards it.Assistant: If you pay off the credit card debt youre guaranteed a return equal to the interest rate on the card. I doubt your savings account gives you anywhere near 10-30.Human: Its taken me a long time to save up this measly 1800, there are costs involved with getting rid of it instantly beyond the interest rate. But that is a good perspective.Assistant: there are costs involved with getting rid of it instantly beyond the interest rateWhat costs are those?Also, it may have taken you a long time to save up that amount, but rebuilding it will happen much faster if you dont have to spend 100 a month on your credit card payments.Human: Loss of access to a nest egg emergency fund, which has taken several years to save up. If I ended up needing to pull a chunk of cash from it, as I have in the past, Id be in trouble and might need to use my credit card, which puts me back where I started here.Assistant: But needing the cash is a hypothetical, whereas paying interest on the credit card is a guarantee. Human: I had to spend 400 on my car last week. I live paycheck to paycheck. That 400 came from my savings and not on my credit card. Its not hypothetical at all.Assistant: If you didnt have CC debt, you couldve put that 400 on your credit card and then paid it off, netting you the benefits of your credit card pointscashbackwhatever.Human: and then paid it offI wouldnt have been able to do that if not for the savings account. And then it would be 400 in debt.Assistant: Youre in debt right now.Human: And I also have a 1800 fungible nest egg.  <response>: ubrotrr is right. Using credit cards as emergency money is generally a bad idea, because youll end up with credit card debt. However, in your specific case, it is a less bad idea than the alternative, which is already being in credit card debt. Keeping your money in savings and maintaining your credit card debt makes exactly as much sense as refusing to climb out of the water, into a boat, for fear that you might fall back into the water once you are in the boat. If you are worried that your cards might get cancelled ifwhen you have an emergency which is a valid concern, then keep enough in savings to cover an emergency - but put the rest into paying off your debt. 