Where To Start?

[Anonymous]

I've spent the past several years of my life since graduating college in a haze of mental illness and addiction.

I've literally ripped up bills since 2007.

I'm coming out of it to reclaim my life.  I'm willing to work hard to make up for it but I have no idea where to start.

Is there a finance counseling service that anyone recommends?

My credit score is 499-505 across the board. 

I have 25 delinquent accounts, 16 of them are individual student loan accounts.

The rest are utilities, two CCs ($3k in CC debt) and unpaid phone bills etc. from where I would hop service to service once I didn't want to pay one.

Totally messed up I know so please don't berate me for irresponsibility.

I'm just overwhelmed by it all.  I don't know where to begin.  

Thank you in advance for your thoughts.

[HiLine]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

I've spent the past several years of my life since graduating college in a haze of mental illness and addiction.

I've literally ripped up bills since 2007.

I'm coming out of it to reclaim my life.  I'm willing to work hard to make up for it but I have no idea where to start.

Is there a finance counseling service that anyone recommends?

My credit score is 499-505 across the board. 

I have 25 delinquent accounts, 16 of them are individual student loan accounts.

The rest are utilities, two CCs ($3k in CC debt) and unpaid phone bills etc. from where I would hop service to service once I didn't want to pay one.

Totally messed up I know so please don't berate me for irresponsibility.

I'm just overwhelmed by it all.  I don't know where to begin.  

Thank you in advance for your thoughts.

---

This board has all the information you need.

Start with getting a job that pays well so you can pay those loans and credit card balances.

Then frequent the Rebuilding Credit board. You'll be amazed how helpful people over there are.

[Anonymous]

I have a job- I'm self-employed and my income is typically $4k-7k per month.

Thank you .  I will read the boards thoroughly.

[thom02099]

Hopefully, no one here will be beating you up for making mistakes in your credit life.  Many of us have been there/done that/won the t-shirt.  So we know.  We remember.  Don't beat yourself up, either! 

In addition to checking the rebuilding forum, you might want to also read through the various "stickies" at the top of each forum.  Some will have more information than others, that's pertinent to your situation.  There's lots of useful information in the credit card forum stickies.  Regardless of the source, there's LOTS of good information here, as well as good people willing to help out someone in need of direction. 

Good Luck to you in your future endeavors!

ONWARD AND UPWARD ! ! !

[InvincibleSummer3]

Hi, Turtle. Welcome!

I was formerly unwilling to deal with stuff too. No judgment here. I don't know that I would recommend a finance counseling service; you can find great info here (esp the rebuilding forum). Don't be overwhelmed - I had a starting score of 480, if that makes you feel any better. We all start someplace.

First things first: are your student loans in default right now? If so, the process to fix that takes some time, so it might be a great place to start.

Then, go here to read up on what to do with the rest:

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/What-Steps-Do-I-Take-Do-I-DV-PFD/td-p/337142

Last but not least - do you have any current accounts at all? You'll want to start showing some good credit behavior as well.

Don't get discouraged! You can do this. We're here to help, too.