College student & crippling debt

[bones]

Hey there,

 

I've been lurking the boards as a guest for quite awhile and genuinely appreciate all of the really knowledgeable people here. I guess, like most everyone, I'm looking for some opinions.

 

My story isn't anything tragic. I made stupid financial decisions when I went off to college. It was a newly gained freedom, you know? I was having a blast, until I got the bills. Today, I'm about 20K in credit card debt, and I'm 21 years old. I had some difficulty paying the minimums earlier this year and was able to work out hardship programs with my creditors. This did help, but I'm not paying any of the cards down. All of my interest rates are at least 22% and though I'm making payments, I'm still only making the minimums because that's all I can afford while I'm in school.

 

I pay rent and my minimums, and then I barely have enough money left over to take care of myself. As far as possessions, I don't own anything, and I have no savings. I beat myself up every day, a lot of nights I cry before I fall asleep, and I just can't take it anymore. I'm stressed with school and working my butt off for minimum wage to get nowhere with my balances.

 

All of my accounts are current, but they're all closed from working out programs with my creditors. At this point, will it really hurt me anymore to talk with a credit counselor and set up a plan? My worry is that I'll graduate in another year or so, and then I'll have my student loans to worry about, too. When those come into play and I need to start paying them off, I'll be bankrupt for sure. My major will require grad school, and at this point I won't even be able to get student loans.

 

 

... I'm sorry if this turned into a little bit of a rant. I'm just very frustrated and tired, and I feel like a failure.

[breeze]

If your rates are around 20%, they did not give you any decent kind of hardship program. Can you give a few more details - which cards are you talking about. Break down the balances and rates. Have you ever paid any of them late? How is your credit report over all? Have you gotten your score?

 

What is your main objective?