I'm assuming you have already destroyed and/or canceled every card?
Derek, there's plenty of good advice here BUT, DO NOT, ABSOLUTELY, CANCEL CREDIT CARDS you've had for over 1.5 - 2 years... keep those lines of credit open. Freeze the darn things is a block of ice and put them in the freezer if you must, but canceling lines of credit you've had open for years will harm your credit score. Your credit score is your friend. Leverage is essential when used wisely, and your worst enemy when used unwisely as you know.
That is absolutely rediculous advice. If I were you, I'd first of all get a 2nd job and apply all of that to the credit card debt, after having destroyed all of my credit cards (debit cards are) OK. I'd pay cash for everything, make a written budget, and have the discipline to stick to it.
Canceling long-established lines of credit can really screw up your credit score. I'm a Mortgage Broker... I pull and look at credit reports for a living. More than once I've seen someone get the brilliant idea to cancel all their credit cards and the dip their credit took put them out of the range for a conforming loan.
As I said, keep one or two of the longest held cards. Freeze them in a freaking block of ice and put them in the freezer. Cancel the rest if you must, but don't put your credit more in the sheitter than it already may be.
No. 1, DON'T be 30 days late on anything!
But you're obviously an expert...
