diff --git a/src/gnome-utils/gnc-file.c b/src/gnome-utils/gnc-file.c
index e2b56b3dc2..6b6ed7c4cd 100644
--- a/src/gnome-utils/gnc-file.c
+++ b/src/gnome-utils/gnc-file.c
@@ -831,8 +831,8 @@ gboolean
 gnc_file_open (void)
 {
   const char * newfile;
-  char *lastfile;
-  gchar *last_file_dir;
+  char *lastfile = NULL;
+  gchar *last_file_dir = NULL;
   gboolean result;
 
   if (!gnc_file_query_save (TRUE))