35 million, that’s how many Americans make minimum payments to their credit cards.  I know, I know, Dave and Suze are telling you to pay off your debt as fast as you can, and normally they would be right, but now is not a normal time.  Remember one of my favorite Herb-isms:  “The Enemy of Good is Perfect.”  In this case, it applies because now you have to rearrange priorities to fit the current situation and now your top priority should be to “save as much cash as possible - and fast!”

In the past when folks got into trouble through job loss or other situations, the problem was usually just temporary, so they would use their credit cards and/or home equity loans to live for a while until they solved the problem and ultimately paid the money back.  Now things are different, unemployment could continue to soar for a very long time, the equity we once had in our homes has been either reduced or eliminated for millions, and credit card limits are either capped or have been turned-off for millions more.  That means that for peace of mind and safety we all need to build up as much cash as possible.

Now, when you go through my Money Finder Guide as part of  the S.O.S. System you are going to discover you can build savings (what I call money reserves), starting with uncovering your “Found Money.” In many cases, this is the cash in your budget that you didn’t realize you were spending, and by using the tools in my guide you can turn this cash into money reserves! However, to really turbo-charge your savings consider this: make only minimum payments on all your debts and put whatever difference there is into your savings until you build up AT LEAST six months of your monthly expenses and maybe more.  Since none of us know when the unexpected will be upon us, it is only logical to build money reserves as quickly as we can.

Of course, I understand that means that you will be paying potentially high interest rates on your card balances while you are saving towards your goals. Don’t worry, I get it, and this is why the solution here is not perfect; it is only good.  The interest costs are real and have to be looked at in a sense of the “cost of doing business.” Meaning, there is really no other choice than to anticipate and/or risk your savings process taking a lot longer than you had expected.  The clock is ticking, so I vote for the good as opposed to the perfect.  That is my advice for you and now armed with the costs and alternatives, you can make a solid, if not good, decision.