You should do both–save and eliminate your debt. Doing both is very important to your financial success. Doing both ensures your success in staying out of debt. I know all the arguments . . . there are those on the side of saving, and those that claim that hitting that debt is of the utmost importance. But I must say that doing both (at the same time) has garnered me much better results.
We set our sights too low — we always look at the break even point. Boy, I’ve got $10,000 worth or debt, I really need to make an extra $10,000. Instead, we need to think — hey, I’m in $10,000 worth of debt, how can I get a hold of $20,000 within the next year? Why because the same amount of energy and money you are putting into your debt, you should putting into YOURSELF . . . saving and investing so you would never have to use credit cards again.
Basically, I invite you to double your efforts. If you send $500 to that credit card to bring down debt, push yourself a little more to make $1,000 – $500 sent to credit cards and $500 deposited to your savings account. That way your efforts don’t seem to be just thrown away, disappearing into the aether. You have something to show for your hard work . . . not just a credit card statement with smaller numbers.
Creating a savings account and having that money for emergencies also insures against future debt. And the best part of this plan, if you fall short of your goals you still have enough money to get out of debt.