"With high-interest credit-card debt, in most cases you are going to be better off cashing in some of the stock to pay off that debt," he says. "This is due to the fact that it will be difficult for the stock or mutual fund to guarantee a return greater than the interest on the debt.

"For instance, if your interest rate on the debt is 18 percent, your stock would need to generate more than an 18 percent after-tax return (every year) in order to beat the return by paying off the debt."

For an answer that directly addresses your situation, Mike suggests using the online calculator at www.fincalc.com/det_10.asp?id=6, which lets you determine the cost of a debt versus the gain from an investment return.

And remember, Mike says, that once you pay off that credit-card debt, you should take the amount you were sending to the card company and plow it back into investments every month.

"Don't just pay it off and call it square and think you've got fun money," he says. "Use what you were paying to credit cards and apply it to your investment strategy."

That's great advice, Mike. It's always better to be earning money on an investment than paying money to a credit-card company.

If you have a financial question, send it by e-mail to gkratz@desnews.com or by regular mail to the Deseret Morning News, P.O. Box 1257, Salt Lake City, UT 84110.

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E-mail: gkratz@desnews.com