text: Don't worry about other people judging you. Your income and debt has nothing to do with you being irresponsible. The fact that you are trying to do something about it, that to me shows absolute responsibility. The good thing is that there are financial counselors out there who are willing to listen to your situation and make recommendations that best fit your needs. In my opinion your best option is to contact these counselors to seek out your options.\n\nThes programs are known as debt management programs and here's how they basically work:\n\n1) You have lots of high interest debt. Perhaps the high interest rates are making it very difficult for you to make any progress. So what do you do?\n2) You call a credit couneling company. I can't speak for all companies, but the ones interested in the consumers show care and compassion because they understand you are in a difficult situation. This is sometimes all someone needs. Someone to just listen to, but if the counselor finds that a debt consolidation WILL help, then they will walk you step by step through the program. Okay so you qualify now what? \n3) You enroll your high interest debt into the program and the company will begin contacting your creditors to negotiate lower interest rates on most of your accounts. This is a tremendous help because interest consumes most of your monthly payment anyways. Another important thing that you have to remember is that the creditors also CLOSE your accounts. This is to further help you along in paying off your debts. But what do you have to do?\n4) You stay in contact with your consolidation company and creditors. But you only make ONE payment to the consolidation company, who in turn forward it to your creditors. Then what?\n5) Sit back and watch your debt slowly disappear! Regardless of the debt, it typically takes a person 4-5 years to pay off your debt. As each account is paid off, your payment is then redistributed among the remaining accounts. It's a snowballing effect, where the payments to your creditors get larger as each account is paid off. \n\nIn choosing a company you also want to look for these things:\n\n1) A company who is genuinely trying to help consumers: A company who is looking for the consumer's best interests will not only counsel you, but they may take you through a budget, analyze your situation, provide free financial material, etc. In other words they don't just try to enroll you. You should never feel pressured.\n2) A company who is non-profit, certified, and has a good track record with the BBB. A company who is non-profit may ask for a donation but it is purely voluntary. All your payments should go to your creditors. Also there are regulation agencies in place to weed out the "shady" companies, so you should make sure they are certified and a responsible member of the BBB.\n3) A company that answers all your questions and whose counselors are also certified. You probably have lots of questions, but a caring and knowledgable counselor will walk you through step by step, and explain thoroughly every step of the process and its affects on your credit.\n\nThe reason I am a big fan of this method is because I myself am on a debt management program and I was once a financial counselor! My overall experience is a smooth one and it probably has something to do with the fact that I saw how the DMP (debt management program) worked behind the scenes. As far as my debt goes, in about 18 months, I have gone from $14000 debt, to about $8500. That's a big leap for me, and it's only going to get better as the payments get larger when accounts begin to close. It's a great system and more people need to take advantage of the great opportunity creditors have given consumers through the DMP. My credit score wasn't bad to begin with but it has increased from 695 to 723.\n\nSo if you are interested in the company I worked for, it is http://www.incharge.org . It is based in Orlan