Hello @dagger212 I have tried both ways of paying off debt first, then saving, and paying debt and saving at the same time. Early on, I found the most efficient way for me was to pay debt and save. After 6 months of savings, I would take that amount and pay down the debt a little more.
I found that it did me no good not to save. One reason was that borrowing again was refused either for being too close to the credit limit or debt to income ratio was too high. So I definitely needed the savings along the way.
You make a good point with the balance transfer feature for new cards that give a grace period. The key is to pay the transferred amount entirely within the "no interest" grace period. I took advantage of that option too.
However, this is my true story. I applied for a particular "no interest" debt-consolidated card. The caveat was that we couldn't incur any additional debt during the time period allowed to repay. In our eagerness to secure the consolidation, we agreed. Of course, as with all things that happen unexpectedly, we had to borrow some additional funds from another source. The issuer cancelled our card, reinstated the revolving interest which was over 20%, with a high monthly payment. Devastating blow.
Any credit option that helps in a particular situation should be a viable consideration.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.