A lot of places that offer to consolidate your debt for you are just in it to make money off of you. They can negotiate on your behalf and get your debt down, but then they'relooking to take the place of the credit card companies in exploiting you.

Post #2, above, gives the best advice - to look for a non-profit organization that is not out to make money off of you.

By now, I hope you realize that you have a problem: you are a compulsive user of credit. That is a tough habit to break, like gambing or substance abuse. You have an "enabler" in the banks.

Fifty years ago, banks wouldn't loan people so much money that their debt to income ratio was out of whack. That was considered an unethical business practice for banks to engage in. But today, thanks to capitalism gone berserk, banks actually try to get you into a position where you are going to be paying them interest for the rest of your life. That's a disgrace that our government allows that kind of financial practice, but that's the world we're living in.

You always have the option of defaulting. And there's not a whole lot the credit card companies can do about it. You can call the credit card issuers and say you need to work out a different payment plan. You can threaten to default on lenders who won't work with you. You actually have more power than they have, despite how threatening these creditors sound when they call you. Ask yourself one important question: did you lie on any application you filled out to a credit card company? If you did, that's fraud. You can go to jail for that . . . though c.c. companies will seldom go to the expense of taking you to court, unless the lies were extreme and the amount borrowed was very large. Usually, they just threaten.

The main problem you face is that it's going to be hard for you to borrow more money. Of course, you really shouldn't be borrowing more money. You've already borrowed too much. Sooner, or later, you are going to be forced to live within your means.

I've been where you're at, so I know how it happens. Jusr remember: No court is going to make you starve to pay your bills. Pay your rent and feed yourself. Then, and only then, pay something on your bills. If the monthly payments are more than you have left in income, then pay a percentage. Maybe pay 50% or 75% or 30%, but pay each of your creditors the same thing, and then none of them can really complain. (Also, stop charging things.) If you explain to your creditors that you are paying them all the same percentage and that it's the most you can pay, without going hungry, then they can't do a darn thing to you. No judge will ask you to do more. They know that.

When creditors call you up and put on a threatening tone of voice, it's because they figure you're probably ignorant of the law. Most borrowers are. Don't become scared. No law says you have to talk to any crefitor on the phone. You are free to hang up anytime you like, and that is not against the law. Of course, they're free to keep calling you. You can tell them that you're only going to speak with companies that will work with you. Don't be intimidated.

The main thing you have to fear is your own tendency to over-borrow. It means the well is going to keep running dry, and you are going to keep falling short. It is a miserable way to live.

Every state has a statute of limitations on consumer debt. Eventually, all debt goes away. If you're young, that gives you plenty of time to rebuild credit worthiness. Don't go around scared, but do come up with a plan, and change your borrowing habits.