Yep. Just went through this. It'* called (I think) debt to credit ratio. Basically, it'* the limit of all your accouints versus how much you're actually using.

The Student Loans will not be refinanced. One is 5.xx% and the other was refinanced and is at 2.87% interest.

I am liking the ideas that are coming. I'll need to see if any of these will work well for me.

Interesting. I was thinking you were going to be in the same boat my wife and I were before I paid them off.. We had about 30 different loans for various amounts from various points during our schooling. We consolidated them into 2 (one for me, one for her) and managed the load until I paid them both off.

http://www.daveramsey.com/

well I can tell you what I did:

I was in college for 2 years with a nearly full time real job and an ebay job on the side lol.

After being drafted right out of college by my employer for a medium pay job in a new town I took it.


The job was going to pay me $1500 a month after taxes.


Rent: $400
Utils: $100
Car Insurance: $70



Ok I have 830 a month left over for the college loan and food.


I ate on the very cheap, I did not drive. I did not put any money into the car for the first 8 months. in that 8 months I was able to pay off $5000 worth of my loan.


Also keep in mind that I often had an extra $300 a month from overtime at least. that usually went toward food and gas.


in 4 months after that I was able to save up $3000 for a new car + about 1000 on a credit card to cover it.



goals:

get the cheapest possible place you can find to live. you might have to live in a crappy house for a while until you get it undercontrol.

sell everything you own on ebay

Cook all your own food, oatmeal is cheap. potatos are cheap. plenty of cheap healthy foods out there.

keep looking for a better job.

One thing a lot of people need to do in this situation (I don't know if you do or not) is to change their thought process, and attitudes. Stick with one car that is reliable, and get rid of the toys, or projects. Don't go out and eat all the time, get a 6 pack instead of going to the bar, etc...

I don't think I would refinance those loans either, it'* relatively cheap money, so don't make that your focus initially. Your biggest problem will be the credit card debt. It'* money that is working against you, so I always suggest to pay off as much as you can each month on the cards, as that will cut down on your interest fees.

Over the last few years refinancing has been very popular, but people are putting it towards their mortgages, which isn't the best way to use that money necessarily. A Mortgage is one of the cheapest ways anyone will ever borrow money, so it should be the last thing to worry about paying off, on an interest stand point.

#1 though, if you don't have the money, don't buy it, unless it'* a necessity. Necessities are food, rent, gas, etc.. Not a new camera because yours is 2 years old. If you can't pay it off within a month or two, you probably should wait. I got to a point where I don't carry a balance on my credit card, and now I have much more money then before. I still try to put atleast one item on it every month, this gives me a bill to pay off every month, which is the best way to add good credit to your rating.

That'* exactly what I was thinking.

And, Jason, you hit it directly on the head too. Paying off the debt is really the easy part. Changing your lifestyle to sustain a debt-free lifestyle is the hard part.

Dave Ramsey has a very easy to follow, PROVEN system to eliminate debt and change your spending habits. I highly suggest you read what he has to offer. His nation-wide AM radio show has helped thousands save millions.