<prompt> Human: Hi all. Im an idiot. I have 5 credit cards at 4 different credit card companies. Over the last 4 years since graduating college I amassed approximately 27,000 in debt in credit cards I know Im an idiot. I have no school loans, no car loan, no house loan. The mortgage is under my wifes name. I have an OK credit score 650-680 as of last time Ive checked. I have been current with ALL my obligations up until today. I am about to start law school in August, for which I will be paying 10,000 a year for, and really need to get my finances figured out before hand. In my marriage, our money situation is OK, for now, we do not use credit cards at all other than to make a purchase and pay them down that month. We get by on the cash that we make monthly. Further, I think its unfair to burden my wife with my debt problem, as its not her responsibility to pay. Most if not all of my credit cards carry interest, and as of now I am able to pay the minimums, plus 500 or so on a single credit card to bring down the balance. I am not sure how this picture will pay out once a law school payment is also in the mix. With no interest considered and no significant bonuses or pay raises that will go right to the credit cards, that is 60 months to pay down my debt. Interest, and other obligations are obviously going to hinder that approach greatly. I see many people around me taking the easy way out. ie resolving via a debt consolidation credit advocacy. Why pay your balance and interest, if you can ruin your credit score temporarily, save up 5 months or so of nonpayment at all, then pay down a fraction of my debt and start over? This is my thought process. I will stop paying all 5 cards altogether for a minimum of 4 months. I will save that money in a separate account, 900 a month. Over the course of 5 months I will have 4500 and a point to start negotiating. I also have a trading account which as of right now has approximately 4500 in it. I am OK with getting rid of it to wipe this debt out. In total that is 9000 that I can use as one time payment incentive to settle. With the thought in mind that I can settle at 50 or less of my outstanding debt, I assume that I can talk them down to 14,000 as a payment in full. With another 6 months or so of my 900 payments, I will be completely debt free in a total of 1 year after starting this plan of attack. This seems like a VERY good idea as it stands. Sort of like ripping a band-aid off, rather than dragging the process out for years. The negatives - As it stands to me most of these are hearsay, I am looking for verification and real answers:1. My credit will get ruined, I am not sure by how much, and for how long this is one of my questions2. Going forward I may have trouble getting a job, and it may hinder my Law career according to the internet 3. Going forward I will have trouble getting a carhouse loan in my name also not sure for how long4. This will somehow impact my wife as well? I know that this is extremely irresponsible of me. I am past that, now its more of a how do I crawl out of this hole consideration. The way I see it is there are 2 types of people: - People that are paying their credit cards on time, with interest, and over the course of monthsyearsa decade will pay them down plus hefty interest. They will maintain this american dream of having a good credit score. If I continue to be one of those I foresee myself paying at least 40,000 over the next 10 years to get rid of this debt. - People that are willing to game the system. Yea I was irresponsible, but so were their lending practices. Now there are tons of people taking advantage of the opportunity to pay a fraction of the debt they accumulated in exchange for a lower credit score and rating. They wind up paying no interest and are able to allocate the cash that they would have sent the credit card companies for years to moving on with their lives. My questions are as follows:- How long does your credit get ruined if you take this route?- Are there better routes? - Will my wife be impacted? - Will I have trouble getting work or pursuing a Law career?- Open ended suggestions, advice, similar stories are welcome, in fact I beg you for them!!?? TL;DR --- Im an idiot. I amassed a huge amount of debt and now am looking to get rid of my debt and move on with my life.  <response>: Your plan might work, but theres also a good chance it wont, in which case your situation will just get worse. I am not sure how this picture will pay out once a law school payment is also in the mix.Youre never going to be able to pay off your debt if you go to law school now.I can settle at 50 or less of my outstanding debtThats quite an assumption. If they dont agree to that, your interest charges will continue to mount and youll probably get dragged into court over this which can result in wage garnishments or you losing any assets you might still have. 27,000 is a decent chunk of change and I dont think theyre just going to let it go. You probably make too much money for that to happen.You say you want to get this over with quickly, but lawsuits can go on for years. Meanwhile youll incur further debt with a lawyer and all the time youre spending dealing with it instead of making money. How long does your credit get ruined if you take this route?No more than 7 years, but you may be able to bring it back to an acceptable level sooner than that if you use credit appropriately.Will my wife be impacted?Financially, probably not, but you and your wife will probably be getting harassed by debt collectors on a regular basis.Will I have trouble getting work or pursuing a Law career?If a prospective employer runs a credit check, youre going to have some explaining to do. Despite the reputation lawyers get, I think many employers will not look favorably on your not fulfilling a contract because nobody else was doing it and it was the banks fault for lending the money anyway. It doesnt really say anything good about your character. 