401k

First and foremost, you should maintain a 401(k) contribution that takes advantage of any company match.

Typically, company matching contributions yield a first-year return of 50% to 100% on your money. Even high credit card interest rates don't justify missing out on such a wonderful opportunity.

That said, if you are contributing above and beyond any match, I suggest you consider diverting that money to credit card payments, but do remember that:

• This money should be in addition to current credit card payments and not used to replace them.

• You should make a firm commitment to increase your retirement contribution back to current levels as soon as the debt is paid. Even better, increase the contribution rate even more than that because you will have additional cash flow once the credit cards are paid off.

To prepare for your retirement, over time your contributions (combined with employer contributions) should equal about 15% of your current income.

• You are going to lose the tax advantages on the money you no longer contribute to the plan. For instance, if you are in the combined 31% tax bracket (federal and state), a $100-per-paycheck reduction in contributions to your retirement plan will only yield $69 of after-tax money that you can apply toward your debt.

• You should take a look at your budget for other areas where you can reduce expenses and also apply that money toward increased debt payments. Reducing your expenses will have the added benefit of helping you avoid a recurrence of this issue in the future.