JOHN, A POLICE COMMANDER, quit using his three credit cards, which have rates ranging from 13.99% to 19.24%, and is determined to erase the debt. His idea is to stop deferring $260 a month into his 403(b) public employees' retirement-savings plan and pay it and any overtime to the card issuers instead. "I think it would be counterproductive to try to build my 403(b) when I'm paying about $300 a month in interest on the credit cards," John reasons. But isn't it a mistake for a 46-year-old to interrupt retirement contributions? John expects to retire in five or six years and doesn't know how much he'll earn in a second career or whether he'll have access to another retirement plan.
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