College Student Credit Card Debt Fix

So I'll paint a quick picture of the scenario I'm in right now. At 18 I got out of hand with credit cards (never really had anyone there for me to say "You're an idiot"). At about 19.5 I lost the job I was working while attending school that was allowing me to pay these credit cards (3 of them) and eventually, somehow someway, actually stopped payments altogether (yes, i know how stupid I am). Long story short, I'm in trouble. I'm 21 and know that I need to start establishing/rebuilding my credit. But I don't even know of a way to assess all my debt. I'll get a letter every now and then about how I owe (x amount)...total I'm about $9,000 in the hole. So basically, can anyone offer some sort of advice (kindly worded please...I'm in school I get lectured enough :c)) as to where to START fixing my debt/credit problems. If it were up to me I'd get a single loan and repay the debt off with that thus having one source of debt to worry about. W/ no credit that's not really an option.. THANKS!
So I'll paint a quick picture of the scenario I'm in right now. At 18 I got out of hand with credit cards (never really had anyone there for me to say "You're an idiot"). At about 19.5 I lost the job I was working while attending school that was allowing me to pay these credit cards (3 of them) [***I DO have a job now for the same University I'm attending*** should've mentioned this before I think] and eventually, somehow someway, actually stopped payments altogether (yes, i know how stupid I am). Long story short, I'm in trouble. I'm 21 and know that I need to start establishing/rebuilding my credit. But I don't even know of a way to assess all my debt. I'll get a letter every now and then about how I owe (x amount)...total I'm about $9,000 in the hole. So basically, can anyone offer some sort of advice (kindly worded please...I'm in school I get lectured enough :c)) as to where to START fixing my debt/credit problems.
***I DO have a job currently. I'm working for the University I attend, should've mentioned this I guess***

Don't look for a quick fix to a 3yo problem. Contact each Card Company to see if they will set you up with a repayment plan. Then, using a notebook or PDA, set up accounts for all of the known monthly expenses [use averages for things like utilities & gas], plus 1 for savings; each payday deposit funds in those accounts [but just leave the money in the bank] to cover what is already spent. At any given time you can subtract the total of the accounts from what money you have, that way you know what is legitimately available to spend. It will take a few months for everything to level out, but after that, you will have the peace of mind that comes from knowing that the bills are covered & what you’re spending isn’t hurting anything.

2008-01-02 12:33:08 by Louis S.

This is a public service video in which a college graduate explains how living like a professional and accumulating credit card debt while in ...

I'm twenty five years old and still in college. I have about $8,000 in credit card debt. I have about 9 maxed out / over the limit credit cards. I have been unable to make my credit card payments for about 8 months due to being out of work , moving, and other personal problems. A couple of my credit cards have been charged off and I don't know what to do. My family can't help, and this has DESTROYED my credit. About a year ago my beacon score was about 640, now I can't get approved for anything. This is horrible, needless to say, lesson learned. I just want to have one regular credit card and maybe a gas card from here on out. I don't know if I should try to consolidate my debt, give up and not worry about it for three more years until I get out of school, but then I have to start paying off my student loans, HELP !!!! Nobody can give me any answers that I need. I just want a fresh start. I want to buy a house someday.

I was in the same situation you are in about 5 years ago. I got in with Consumer Credit Counseling (CCC) program and they negotiated lower payments and interest rates for me on my cards and I was able to crawl out from under the crushing debt load.

Since then, I have been very careful to make all my payments on time and..most importantly (they don't tell you this) make sure you DON'T max your cards out. Your credit score is based on how much credit you have available vs how much you have used. So keep your balances low.

And don't wait for three years until you are out of school. You should start now, so you will have three years of good payments showing on your credit when you are ready to get on with life. Otherwise your hands will be tied.

2006-10-21 08:48:54 by heather d

i have 3 credit cards from when i was first starting college and i was stupid and thought it was a great way to pay for everything and then BOOM, i couldnt pay the bills, they wouldnt terminate the account till it was payed. each is like $400, i also have quite a bit in medical bills does that go against you when trying to get a home? also have a student loan for 4,000 and am just starting to try and make things right with it. how can i access my credit report for free online and fix and didpute it? also it i got the credit cards fixed how much will it bring up my score?

Per the Fair Credit Reporting Act (Federal law) derogatory accounts show for 7-years from the date of first delinquency which works out to 7-years and 180-days.

The only way to get accurate information removed from your report is to get the collection company to agree to a "Pay for delete" agreement, this simply says that in return for your payment they agree to remove the accounts from your report. Never pay old debts without this agreement unless they are about to take you to court. And always get this agreement in writing before you pay them a dime.

And yes any derogatory account will go against you when trying to purchase a home.

2009-04-27 08:42:33 by !@mommy to gwen@!

Before I start, I want to say that I am not saying any of these things as excuses for my situation, because I take complete responsibility, but I want to give a bit of background.

I grew up in a very abusive home, and made some extremely bad choices. I ran away from home, got into drugs and alcohol, etc.

I did graduate high school, but did not go to college. Later, after I cleaned up my life and decided to become a productive member of society, I made another bad choice. I decided to go to ITT Technical Institute rather than a university.

This cost me about 30,000 in student loans, which I didn't really understand the reprocussions of at the time.

After that, I didn't get a great job like they promised me. I ended up working tech support in a call center. I had an extremely hard time making my rent, bills and the insanely high payments the student loan people asked of me.

Because of that, I also ended up with A LOT of credit card debt.

My student loans are defaulted and my credit is totally ruined. It's around 400 right now.

I just found out I was sued by Capital One. I did not get served papers or anything and didn't even know they were suing me. I called the court because I got paperwork saying Capital One won the lawsuit by default since I did not show up. I told them I didn't even know I was being sued. They said they had on record that they tried to mail me the summons but that it was returned to the post office for some reason. They said a notice was "posted to my door."

Well, I live in an apartment complex with my door facing a major road. Anything could have happened if they simply stuck a paper on my door. I never saw one so for all I know it blew away or someone ripped it off.

Long story short, I am in deep trouble.

I have fought really hard to try to salvage my life and make amends for my bad choices, but it feels like for every step forward, I take 3 steps backwards. I don't know how to get ahead with everything stacked against me.

I can barely make my rent and bills right now.

I want to go to a real university and get a real degree so I can get a good high paying job and settle my debts, but I can't even do THAT since my student loans are in default!

(Can't get money if I can't get school, can't get school if I can't get money.. Again, don't know how to win here!!)

So, if anyone out there can give me some advice on how to save myself, please help me.

I have considered bankrupcy to get out of some of my debts, since my credit is already destroyed, but I don't know if that will make it impossible for me to get a car when my lease runs out. (In about 6 months.)

I also don't have the cash to pay a lawyer for bankrupcy... :(

I am really stuck here. What can I do to fix this?


Thank you for your time.

Bankruptcy will not work for your student loans, you owe that no matter what. You can go chap7 on the rest. All lawyers will work out a payment plan for you to pay them, they know you don't have that cash up front otherwise you wouldn't be in their office, usually the first visit is free while they go over everything with you. I was able to get a bank loan for a car within 6 months of my release (after 1 yr of waiting for it to process) with not do bad of interest rate (you have to shop around they are all different). Good luck

2009-10-09 23:30:13 by August

A little background info:
I am in my early 20s. I'm a recent college grad with a fairly secure job.
I have never had a credit card, so no credit card debt. I do have poor credit. In college, I had lousy health insurance, thus I have a few medical debts from like 5 years ago. I just finished paying off my car, and I have student loans that I've done extremely well on (paid extra every month). The only bad thing on there is the old medical bills, which has brought my score to like 500.

How do I fix my credit? I want to buy a house.

You probably won't be able to buy a house at this time. Keep doing what you're doing and in time your score will improve. Having a credit card will actually improve your credit provided you use it responsibly and pay more than the minimum each month.

Also, the larger the percentage you can put down on a house the lower the interest rates and the more likely you are to qualify for a loan. You shouldn't be looking to buy unless you have at least 20% down, more in your current situation. I've been told that at about 40% down, it's very easy to qualify for a home loan.

2009-04-03 15:37:38 by Nahira says ho Ho ho