I had about $17,000 in credit card debt (now in collections). I've only managed to pay it down about $1000 so far. I still have $11000 in student loans (half the loans I took I didn't really need). It will probably take me the next 6-10 years to pay it all back. Nobody bipolar should own a credit card lol. At least not one with more than a $500-$1000 limit.