As others have pointed out, obtaining a 12% after tax return is not something you can count on no matter how you put the money to use. As you've pointed out CDs

As others have pointed out, obtaining a 12% after tax return is not something you can count on no matter how you put the money to use. As you've pointed out CDs will produce a negligible return and also come with liquidity restrictions. Investing in stocks (bonds are not an option to beat a 12% after tax rate of return) will not produce that kind of return without you taking on a severe level of risk. It's hard to give a good answer without knowing what kind of income you have and how regular a source it is. The more regular your income, the more aggressive you can be paying down your credit card debt. But if you expect to go a while without a significant source of income, you will need to keep more cash on hand. You could ask family or close friends for a no-interest loan to help you get your credit card debt down to $3000 or lower. Depending on how much they are willing to loan you, you might be able to use some of your cash to pay it off completely. The bottom line is that, realistically speaking, you are not going to be able to "snowball" $3000 into anything when you owe $6000. Your snowball needs to be pushed uphill right now (pardon the mixed metaphor). When you get over that hill you can start thinking about rolling it down the other side. In the meantime, you can do as Mr. Kaufman suggested and spend a small amount on educational books that will prepare you for the day when you are in the black.