Hello mustaches of the world!
While I have been on a path to Peak Mustache for a few years now, last year I succumbed to a Sucka Consumer approach to not one, not two, but THREE friend weddings in locations that were not my hometown, and used a (low interest!) credit card to pay for the travel. After punching myself in the face a few times (and re-learning the lesson that I absolutely positively no-way-no-how can be trusted with credit cards), I started flinging huge chunks of dough at those balances every paycheck.
I know how to do this, having paid off my student loans in under a year thanks to the frugality tips and attitude adjustment I learned here. I'm on track to pay it all down by the end of the year.
But! Here is where I'm looking for advice: I've got about $4000 'stashed in a Betterment account, and about the same amount of debt on an 8% interest card (plus an additional $2400 on no-interest cards: the promotional periods are good until the end of this year). Should I withdraw that money and fling it at the balance, too?
Potentially complicating factor: rents in my area are rising, quickly. One not-great apartment complex raised its rates 30% in the past 21 days, and the trend is growing. This will affect me in the next month or two as I look for a new rental (my current place won't be an option for long), so the idea of getting some of that monthly obligation out of the way is MIGHTY attractive. In fact, when I do have to move, it's likely that I'll have to cut down my debt payments considerably, which would extend my payoff time into the middle of next year. Yuck.
I've had my Betterment account for about a year and a half (I started contributing to it as soon as my student loan was gone) and I've never made a withdrawal, so I'm unclear on potential penalties or taxes or whether this is a terrible idea. It is not a retirement account, per se, just my first experiment with investing (with the long-term goal of financial independence).
My apologies if there is already a thread for this: I never have much luck with the search here. Please feel free to point me to any existing advice. And punch me in the face! (I've learned my lesson though, I promise.)