I get so frustrated when people tell me it's unrealistic to create an eight-month emergency savings fund, or have money saved for a home down payment, or pay off their $5,000 credit card balance. ↗
I have always advocated doing everything possible to pay off credit card balances; it's good financial management and the ticket to a strong FICO credit score. ↗
Defense spending as a share of the economy dropped significantly during the early 1990s, and that was one of the things, along with other policy changes, that put us back on the path to a balanced budget. ↗