Paying off past debt

You have a few options you could choose from.
If your credit cards are all in good standing still you could talk to them about lowering your interest. You can sign up to be in a debt management or consolidation company. Siging up with one dropped one of my interests rates on a card from 22% to 9% so more of the payment go towards the balance.
You could make minimum payments and pick a card to start sending larger payments to and once that one is paid off you could pick another card to do the same thing with. Thats easy to do when you have small balances. It all depends on your total debt and your income.

Agreene85

Hi, welcome to the forums!

It's great to see that you're wanting to clean up your credit. Are the credit cards the only thing negative you have? Have you obtained your credit report recently? I would review your credit file, and send a letter of validation to all. Make sure that any collection agency trying to collect on a debt is licensed, and has the right to be collecting.

Second, you can try to work with each of your creditors. Make an offer, and be willing to act on it. collection agencies are usually more quick to act on an offer, but if you tell the credit card companies you can only afford to send x amount of dollars in, but are only willing to do so if they remove the late fees, then be prepared....they generally accept offer.

Finally, have you considered consolidation? Depending on how much in debt you are, debt consolidation could work for you. By signing up on this site, which it appears you've already done, you've registered yourself for a free consultation. The counselor will make an attempt to talk to over the phone, and set up a time to speak with you about your debts. They'll go over the program benefits, and answer any questions you may have.

Hope this information helps. The community is always here, so be sure to ask questions if we can help any more.

Regards-
Mike

Thanks guys for the help. Unfortunately my cards are not in good standing. This is my main problem I guess. I only have a couple thousand dollars total debt however as a student right now I am on a very limited income, paying for rent as well as other bills that hinder my pockets. With my cards not being in good standing, is there other solutions? I get calls everyday from the collectors but of course, as Im sure it's common, I ignore those. It's been so long and I know they want their money; I just cant afford to give it to them, yet! Any suggestions now that I've shed more light on my siuation?

You can avoid dealing with the collectors if they have been hired by your credit companies. The credit companies will like to receive payments towards the accounts if you assure them your sense of responsibility. If you cannot make large payments, use a debt management program for best results. The counselor will offer you reduced monthly payments and the interest rates will also be lowered to minimum. Things can start improving if you keep your accounts current and start posting payments. The benefits of the consolidation program have been discussed in the page below

http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/benefits.html