NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - My husband insists on not using our savings account to pay off our $14,000 credit card bill because he doesn't like the idea of not having any savings. I feel we should pay off the credit card and start to build the savings account again.

To prove my point I have to show him exactly how much we would save per month if we paid the card off. The interest on the card is 11.9 percent and the interest rate on the savings account is 2.5 percent. Could you show me the savings?

-- Janiece Sherwood, Chelsea, Okla.

I'm sorry, but I don't think this debate can be won solely on the numbers. Yes, from a purely interest paid versus interest earned point of view, using the money from the savings account to pay off the credit card would seem like a no-brainer.

After all, at a rate of 11.9 percent, you're paying $1,666 in interest each year on your plastic debt (although that amount will go steadily down as you repay principal, which isn't too quickly with most credit cards).

Meanwhile, the 2.5 percent rate on your savings account earns you just $350 (an amount that would go up as you earn interest on your interest). Clearly, paying off the debt would save you lots more in interest costs than you could hope to earn in interest on your savings for quite some time.

So, for you, that's the end of the argument. You won, let's pay off that card.

Your husband views the choice somewhat differently. He apparently doesn't like the prospect of living without a safety cushion for emergencies and unexpected financial demands.

Maybe he feels that once the savings are gone and the debt is paid off, both of you would be more apt to increase your debt again than to rebuild your savings. So maybe he's willing to incur the cost of keeping the debt so he can have the security that comes from having the savings.

Which position is right? I think that's something the two of you will have to decide. I should add that I'm sympathetic to both positions. It would irk me to fork over those big interest payments every month. If you could pay off the debt by using only a portion of your savings, then I'd be less sympathetic to your husband's view. But I completely understand his reluctance to find himself without a safety cushion.

There are some other solutions you might consider, however. What if, instead of paying off the entire debt, you and your hubby paid off, say, half of it with your savings account -- and at the same time both of you agreed to pay down the remaining $7,000 within a certain amount of time -- say, two years.

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According to CNN/Money's Debt Reduction Planner, in order to do that you'd have to pay down your balance at a rate of $325.96 a month. In this way, you would get some of the financial benefit of lower interest payments, and your husband would still have the security of knowing he had money to fall back on in an emergency.

Another option is to go to the Rate Watch tool in the Banking and Borrowing section of our site to see if you can find a credit card that offers a lower interest rate, and a CD that pays a higher one. You might also consider opening a home equity line of credit to pay off your debt. You can grab pretty low rates on these lines right now -- the prime lending rate is currently 4.75 percent. Plus, the interest is usually tax deductible, which isn't the case with credit-card debt, and the payment terms are flexible. (If you choose this option, however, don't let the easy repayment terms make you lose sight of your goal to pay down your debt.)

Seems to me you and your husband have got some talking to do, perhaps over a nice dinner. Just don't charge the dinner to your credit card.

Walter Updegrave is the author of Investing for the Financially Challenged and can be seen regularly Monday mornings at 8:40 a.m. ET on CNNfn.