Which of these options is financially smarter?

Is it smarter to:
1. Save up as much money as possible and to just pay a little over minimum payments on all bills.
or..
2. Save just about no money at all and get out of debt. Then once out.. focus on saving money?
Thank you for your help..
By the way me and my husband are in debt fairly bad, and were trying to get on our feet. It seems everytime i pay on a bill, barely any of it goes through because of all of the interest and finance charges. Thanks!

Option 2 is best in theory, and most likely is the best in reality. The only drawback is that if you get into an emergency, you won't have any cash and you'll have to take on more debt. You may want to consider saving about $500 to $1000 for emergencies, but only if you really think you have the discipline to avoid spending it. I'm thinking that since you have a lot of debt and probably not much discipline, it might be better for you to just pay as much as you can towards it every month and hope you don't have an emergency. You will be poor and it will suck for a while, but it will be a really strong reinforcement for good money habits. You will pay off the debt quickly and you won't soon forget that being in debt makes you feel like a slave to the bank and it's no way to live your life. It takes one to know one, and I used to be in your situation. It took me 3 years to get out of it, but now I'm rolling in the clover. Good luck and stay focused. Try the money message boards over at MSN.com if you want to find some supportive and intelligent people who are experts in debt avoidance and saving money.

http://moneycentral.msn.com/community/me...

You should listen to this guy, He will answer your questions without making you feel like crap. He is good. Chech him out. What do you have to lose, except the dept. In answer to your question, 2
http://www.daveramsey.com/

2 is smarter, since the interest you are paying is almost certainly higher than the interest you can earn on your savings.
However, it is even more important to balance your budget. Simply put you need to either spend less or earn more, so your spending is less than your income.

The smarter choice is to pay off your debt first. I was in a similar situation, and if you keep paying the minimum on all the bills you will be paying them for 30+ years. Get out of debt in 3 yrs and then save for a fabuous future!

same here

I'm down like $25K I think

Suzie says use CCCS I think, anyway find non profit credit councellors

maybe a bankruptcy,thats what many folks do

Just paying minimum COSTS you lots of $$$$ because the % charges keep increasing & sink you .

If you got that far into debt , then it is time for both of you to get 2nd jobs and pay them off
OR you will still be street poor when you get old .

Better get rid of all debt with % while you're young and can still do it .

Being old and poor will reallllllllly suck !

>

Pay as much as you can now to get out of debt. This includes some short term uncomfortable reductions in your bills. 150 cable channels and unlimited internet access are luxuries. Indoor temperatures under 75 in summer and over 65 in winter are luxuries. Raw foods are much less expensive and ironically much better for you than the expensive pre packaged/prepared foods, you can find most of them along the walls of the grocery store and the expensive packaged foods down the isles. Reduce trips in the car, use low energy fluorescent bulbs etc. Most of these items will save big bucks, and remember its only for a short time, until you can pay off those soul sucking credit bills. You will have a much better perspective and respect when you emerge on the other side. Life is long, this will only be a small blip on your lifescreen, and if you do it up right it will be something to be proud of and a lesson to pass along to others you care about.