Preparing for a strike. . . .

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, my labor union may very well call for a strike in the next 60 days. I do have $1,000 in my emergency fund, so I'm feeling somewhat comfortable with the idea of not earning any money for a few days (as long as it's no longer than a few days!)

However, thinking about the possible financial ramifications of striking has led me to consider whether I should deposit my 'debt repayment' money into my emergency fund for the next two months, just to beef it up a little more. I lowered contributions into my 403b last month, so that I would have $550 free to use toward credit card debt, beginning in the month of May.

Should I put off the oh-so-sweet (so sweet I can almost taste it, folks) notion of being consumer debt-free by August? It's possible that the extra money won't be needed at all, and after the threat of strike has passed (hopefully with an adequate salary increase, to boot) I can take it out of my EF and send it merrily along to American Express.

Just for kicks, I updated my debt spreadsheet, which is shown below. As you can see, I've paid off $1530.84 in the past two months (primarily using my tax refunds, but also increasing the amounts I'm sending from my salary). Two of my cards are completely GONE! Only one more remains. . . . !