Hey JerseyJeff84! 
@Anonymous wrote:I'm sure some of you have dealt with or have heard of, Applied Bank, formerly Applied Card Bank. They have ridiculous $15 a month "maintenance" fees, and there's interest is around $40 a month on my card. So that's $55 a month taken from a $77 minimum payment on my account, which means $22 a month gets taking off my balance. My statement shows that it'll take 16 years to my balance off at that rate, however, I can't afford at this time to double up on payments or pay much else. I've been faithful and never missed a payment since opening this card up in September of 2005, however, with Christmas season and with thinking of all the $ I've wasted with them, I'm seriously thinking about shredding their card, not paying them on my due date of this Thursday, the 9th, and putting that $80 a month into a savings account.
I know it will ruin my credit, but at this point I don't really care, as I'm not in the market for a mortgage for at least another decade, and I already bought a brand new car last year. Thoughts? Advice?
Your frustration is understandable. Applied Bank is a predatory lender, and coughing up the minimum payment each month is painful because of those outrageous fees. I don't, however, recommend that you default if you can avoid it-- don't default out of frustration. Defaulting means more pain, and more fees, frankly. You'll end up paying, one way or another, be it with your hard earned cash (over and above what you owe now), or with smashed credit that will, undoubtedly, make the cost of financing things (for the foreseeable future) even more painful, or possibly impossible for some time. Likely, both-- you'll pay $$$ & have smashed credit. 
How does the rest of your credit profile look? Do you know what your scores are? Do you have other revolving credit accounts? If so, what's your debt to limit ratios? I ask because there are better ways to get out from under Applied Bank that will preserve both your money & your credit. For example:
1) Can you transfer the balance to a different card(s)? Given the time of year, a lot of lenders are waving the (temporarily) sweet balance transfer deals around. I've seen any number of 0 to 2.99% deals being offered so far. I've also seen a number of 0% introductory APRs for new credit products. For this option, you'll either have to have the available credit amongst your existing accounts, or you'll have to meet the credit requirements of a new card.
2) Do you belong to a credit union? A consolidation loan (while the rates aren't usually great, but far better than Applied) would help you consolidate your balances, and quite probably get one lower payment, allowing you to close out that Applied bank account, and move your revolving balance(s) to installment debt. With this option, however, you have to be very careful to avoid the debt trap of charging up balances on your revolving account(s) again, and ending up owing much more than you did before.
3) Increase your income & cut your expenses-- is another, perhaps part-time, job an option? Due to the shopping season, you may be able to find a temporary position that will bolster your income for a few months. Are there things you can sell to raise some cash? A really good way to find more money in your budget to dedicate towards paying off debt is to cut any extras. It can be painful to give up things that you enjoy, temporarily, but it can be much more rewarding than throwing money away to predatory lenders at the same time. Can you, for example, reduce or eliminate your cable TV bill, or your cell phone plan. Can you car pool to save gas? Can you pack a lunch vs. buying it. Eat in vs. dining out. Only you know what expenses are in your budget and what's necessary to sustain yourself, your home & your employment. Circumstances are as different as people are-- some people genuinely have a need for "A" when another person could definitively live without it. You'll have to look at the big picture, and figure out what can go.
4) Consider a Debt Management Plan (DMP), not to be confused with those harmful & unethical so-called "debt reduction/negotiation/repair" companies that ruin your credit, cost you more $$$ and ruin your financial life while they're at it. There are several members here who have had success at paying off their debt in 3 to 5 years using a DMP. Hopefully, they'll chime in and add their experiences. FTC: Knee Deep in Debt is a good starting place for researching this option (and others) and steering clear of unscrupulous companies that will only make matters worse.
5) Bankruptcy - I only mention this option if default is inevitable due to job loss or gross underemployment that renders it impossible for you to pay back your debts. The option of last resort, but the one that would provide legal shelter from your creditors IF default is inevitable & IF you qualify. This option requires that your circumstances meet the legal requirements & a formula is used to determine if you're insolvent enough to qualify-- so it's not a given just because default is inevitable.