I've just been credited 10 British Pounds. Starting the collective credit debt at +10.

I heard that consolidating your debt is one step above declaring bankruptcy, so I'd advise against doing that. Just do what I did with the Money Thieves, otherwise known as USC: talk to your creditors, work out a payment schedule...then just don't pay. Alternatively, flee the country, change your name, and live out life in "Proletarian grandeur."

Stop spending money you don't have.

I was going to post essentially what NightHawk did. Whatever you do, *don't* join a debt consolidation program, or consumer credit counseling, or whatever, unless you are really, *really* in deep, and have absolutely no credit as is. I had decent credit last year when I joined a debt consolidation program, kinda on a whim. Before I started the program, my credit score was somewhere in the 600-700 range. Not great by any means, but not crackhead bad either. I was in the program for 4 months, my credit immediately nosedived, most of my creditors said they were never even contacted by the debt consolidation folks, so all my accounts went +90-120 days, and then I talked to a guy from Western Union credit, who I had a couple accounts with. He explained about the "almost-as-bad-as-bankruptcy" thing, and advised me to get out of the program quickly. I did, and a year or so later I am still working my credit score back up. If you're gonna do it, and it's as bad as a bankruptcy, in my opinion you might as well jump both feet and just file for the damn bankruptcy. At least they can't come after your primary domicile and all that.
Find some way to get a loan to pay it all off, or something. And then swear off credit cards for a while. And new cars. And student loans belonging to your wife. Hah. I wish...

What's Fark's collective credit card numbers? I need them for an...um...survey?

debt free. It won't last though. The car just got totalled(damn red light runners!) so, I am gonna go down about 5-10k, to buy a decent vehicle.

/damn red light runners ruining my life.

im at like 5k for CC degt.. mainly because of college ....

im not doing too bad.. i have a few gigs for side work and should have that paid off in a year.

No debt here, biotch!

I never got a credit card. I have no credit. I'm poor. Basically I like it this way. I see so many people with credit and with huge debts and they lose their jobs ( common as hell these days ) and WHAMMO, bankruptcy or worse. My advice would be to try to live as spartan a life as possible. It's not the easiest thing for some. But when I was in debt, a car loan, and found myself suddenly out of work and looking at living in a van down by the river, I sold the car, slacked off and got rid of the urge to buy crap I didn't need. I may have wanted it but if it wasn't necessary that product or service sat on the shelf. This is not a viable solution to a lot of people, but since I don't have bad credit, or good credit, or any credit, I suddenly find I have fewer corporate mouthes to feed. That's a good thing. It's almost a zen thing. I'm like some poor-ass buddhist monk who only lacks the serenity because every other asshat around me sucks. Most probably couldn't do this as I don't have a wife or kids, just a hungry hungry cat who may as well be a kid. I've never had any problem getting apartmnts with no credit and I have no need to go to any place that requires a credit card. Screw 'em. Funny thing is I hit on the idea after reading The Book of the SubGenius for the thousandth time and my last day of work was a marathon 24-hour shift. I actually just walked out and never came back to work, so technically I got fired, technically.

Then there's always just moving to Mexico.

Just trying to help, saying what I did. I've got a weird-ass life. Time to take in aluminum cans.

/insane ramblings of a man kept up three nights without sleep by meth-addled neighbors, and days ain't much better.

what's a credit card?

get rid of the credit cards you have. you don't need them, you only think you do. the hard part isn't always getting out of debt, it's staying out. i second CrazyCurt on the spartan lifestyle thing too. it's tough, especially if you're married, but you can do it, if you both want to get out. if you're single, you have no excuse. sell your shiat on ebay or have a yard sale. move into a smaller apartment in a cheaper part of town. cancel all the stupid stuff life tivo, digital cable, and those pr0n sites. you can get all you need for free. just GIS boobies some time.

About $3,500. I always kept my debt manageable and then I had to get a ton of work done on my car. Once you throw almost $2,000 on your credit card at once, your debt goes the way of the downward spiral.

Mrs. Chastain and I, through bad choices, are down about $30k in credit card bills. In order to pay that amount, we actually just took out a second mortgage on our home.

So, instead of owing the credit card companies, we now owe the bank for 10 years. That said, our payments for the 2nd mortgage are considerably lower than our collective credit card monthly payments, and we should have it paid off in much less time.

That said, cut the farking things up the soonest chance you get, and stop spending money you don't have.

$0.

I use credit cards extensively, but I pay my bills off in full every month.

$6,000 here.....


paid bi-weekly payments to your highest interest rated card first.

get that one taken care of and the rest is easy as pie.

oh, and cut up whatever cards you do have....if you want the debt gone, the cards have to be also.

$48000. And no cents/sense.

Everyone, listen to Ctyner!

$0

Upcoming wedding and honeymoon will no doubt change that.

$1800ish. I literally froze it in a block of ice in the freezer for several months and was making good headway on the debt, but I moved about a month ago and ended up using it for stuff for new place and some other bills. Not too smart, I know. I'll be freezing it again, and I've taken it off of any and all websites I used it on, since I have a tendency to get bored and Amazon-shop at work.

With voting for no reason.

i made it out of college debt free (thanks dad), but the new car and the new guitar has me debted to the bank for around 12K....fairly small debt for most 23 year olds in the US

I always pay my card off complete. How do I do that, you ask? I DON'T LIVE OUTSIDE MY MEANS!!! Live cheap, live happy.

Try Help4America.com

I have my credit only for building debt. I pay off what I spend every month. I do owe for my car and my education though.

Credit card, nothing. I only use it when I'm buying something that costs more than $300, because I don't want to go walking around with $300 cash. Then I pay it off before the bill comes.

I suppose I could use my check card, but that comes out of my checking account, which I keep rather low because it gets jack for interest.

Mortgage, on the other hand, an arm and a leg.

Nada, zip, no debt. Exccept for mortgage, I bear no debt and have no pity for those asstards that charge up cards. Buck up for a year or two and learn how great freedom is!!

Alright, I know it's hard so you all get a little pity!

Car loan: $10,000
Student loan: $3,500
Credit Card: $4,000

I owe $700.

keep in mind that the proposed new bankruptcy laws will make it much harder for an individual to get out from under. it used to be an individual could walk away clean. however, the congress is considering changing that and requiring that debtors pay something (though corporations can still get away clean). if you need to get out of debt and you are considering a debt consolidation service then you are a good candidate for bankrutcy. heads up, once your debts are discharged by the court you are free to rebuild much faster than if you you just didn't pay or if you went debt consolidation. my suggestion? file BK soon...and learn to live without things. also, bankruptcy is not the black blemish it used to be. you do it with a minimum of money too. have a document service (like We The People or soem other paralegal joint) do the papers and appear on your own behalf. don't hire an attorney unless there are complex property issues or some other stuff that requires more than answering yes or no to the Court's Trustee. And yes you can keep the house and car if the payments are current.

best of luck

/legal beyatch has spoken

$1500, and I only pay the minimum, since I ran it up as soon as I got it.

it used to be an individual could walk away clean.

Provided he doesn't need credit, a car or a place to stay.

$5500 auto, $9000 credit card, $44000 student loan.

A little over $10,000 I believe; but in my defense, it was $15,000 at X-Mas time.

Exccept for mortgage, I bear no debt

er, hello?

$0.00. All credit card debt is paid off in full every month. I'm sure that my credit report isn't anything about which to write home, but at least I don't have to deal with creditors.

I'm at my limit: $9,600 or so. Back in the heady days of dot com mania I bought a farking motorcycle on my credit card. Great idea huh?

Now I'm unemployed and paying $90 or more per month in finance charges.

Owe nothing because I've paid all bills on time and in full. And that's the only advice anyone should give you.

How about not buying things you can't afford? Radical idea, huh. I can understand the blanket rejection of this, as there are some Christian religions that advocate it. And anything advocated by the xtians is automatically rejected out of hand.

Speaking of which, SONG LYRICS

It's so hard to get a room without a credit card
It's so hard not to let em know where you are
Tried to get a rent a car
But he laughed when I showed him cash
Had to mash 'fore he called the feds on my ass

$2000, but I can party hard, so it doesn't matter!

/nothing

$0.00

I pay them off every month. :-P

$12k, mainly 'cause I've been calling this girl nightly for the past few months. She only gave me her 1-900 number. She likes me though. At least she says she does.

I just got married and inherited a $9,000 credit card debt.

That is after working my ass off for years to finally get rid of my credit card debt.

Student loans, on the other hand, are sky high for both of us. We'll be paying those off until we are in our 60s (8 years of school for both of us).

P.S. no credit cards, just a car and a house. cash is king!

Credit cards: $0
Student Loans: probably over $20k when all is said and done.

Read this, this is serious advice that works.

Let the bills go to collections, or deal with the debtor. Either way, negotiate your debt.

It's an ugly process, but what you do will work. Never go with Consumer Credit Counseling Services or any other not for profit thing. Negotiate for yourself.

Basically, get with a supervisor. Tell them you can't pay all of your debt. Instead of paying minmums for a few months, save up some money. Let's say it's $1000.

Call each debtor and say "I have $1000, I will give it to you now if you settle my debt of $2500 that I owe you. Otherwise, you can send it to collections for even less money, I can't pay it."

If they threaten to sue, you can always declare bankruptcy.

Anyway, you can negotiate your debt to about 30-40% with the debtor, and if it's sold to a collections agency, even less than that.

Once you are done, become a madman writing all of the credit reporting bureaus telling them that the chargeoffs and latepays etc are not valid. Every week write them a new letter disputing it. Eventually, they will just take it off.

Beat this greedy bastards at their own game!

non-profit debt consolidation is evil.

they tell you they are not for profit, but when it comes down to it, you pay (in my case) $50 a month towards your balance, and %70 a month towards fees. Basically, they rape you.

I would try to borrow money from family or friends before I would deal with those sharks. That is what I did, and I am now out of the hole only 2 years later, as opposed to the 6 years they quoted me.