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Dear Dave,\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n We\u2019re following your Baby Steps plan, and we\u2019ve paid off all our credit cards. But when I talked to my husband the other day about cutting up the cards and closing the accounts, he said he would rather keep the accounts open, and the cards locked away in a drawer for use as an emergency fund. He says this will help us have an emergency fund in place quicker than saving for one. I think there\u2019s more behind his reasoning, though. He grew up in a very poor family, and I wonder if he\u2019s not afraid of somehow ending up in that kind of situation again. What can I do to convince him to follow your advice?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Ramona\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Dear Ramona,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I think you\u2019re a very perceptive lady. You said your husband grew up in poverty, right? So, what I\u2019m hearing is the cards represent almost a security blanket for him\u2014a financial security blanket. I get that, but here\u2019s the thing. If you had a fully funded\u00a0<\/span>emergency fund\u00a0of three to six months of expenses sitting in the bank, I\u2019m talking about hard cold cash, you\u2019d have the security of knowing that the expense of a new air conditioning unit or transmission for the car would only be a minor inconvenience. And, you\u2019d be able to cover it easily without going back into debt.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n