My debt life spiraled out of control with my first marriage. He had horrible credit, and so EVERYTHING went in my name. We moved, and I have him the money to pay off all the bills so we didn't leave owing anyone anything...he kept the money and just turned off the phone, cable, Internet, electricity...and I didn't leave a forwarding address because I thought they were paid off. Three years later, after a messy, expensive divorce, I moved home to learn that I owed EVERYONE money. It was a nightmare. After a year of paying off one bill at a time as I could afford it, which wasn't very often, as a single mom with two kids, I decided to be proactive. I called a debt company, one of those places that promises to get you out of debt in 18 months. *Steve was such a helpful and nice man, together we went over every financial aspect of my life, and I was put on an 18 month plan to get out of debt. All I had to do, was let them withdraw $250 dollars a month from a special savings account, and they would do all the work with my creditors to pay off my debt. After a year, and $3000 later, there was no change to my credit at all!! I was promised results in as little as 2 months. I called Steve, and he said that none of the creditors had gone for a 'payoff' as of yet, but they were working on them. I had a newspaper bill on my credit for $24 dollars! How was that not paid off!! So, I told him that I wanted out of the program, and guess what...with early withdrawal, comes no refund. So I lost $3000 dollars. That was a lot of money to me. So, I decided to work on my own credit. I got a free credit report, and offered to pay off all accounts through one collection agency off at a smaller fee than I owed. Since they were all super delinquent accounts, they went for it. I paid of $6k in debt with a mere $1400. The job that debt consolidators do for you, and charge a fee for, you can do yourself! I also opened two small credit card accounts, because to ever get a home loan, you generally have to have two revolving credit accounts in good standing. I use them to pay bills, and then I pay 80% of them off every month. After only a few years, my credit is much better, and almost all my debt is paid off. My goal is to get my first home loan at 30, which for a lot of people, is old for a home loan, but for someone who's credit was ruined at a young age, I have done it myself, and am very proud of that.

Now, to keep myself debt free, I keep a very strict budget, and file EVERYTHING. There isn't a dollar of my money that is unaccounted for, and I regularly check my credit. Don't feel despair, creditors aren't really that bad, they are just doing a job. If you offer to work with them, they will work with you. Don't hide from them, that's when they get scary. Now, I have a good relationship with my creditors, and even though I still owe some money, I have let them know that I am on the road to debt recovery, starting with my smallest bill, and going to the highest one. It is a proven system that works, so good luck!!