<prompt> Human: First of all, this is a piggy back off of Stupid_Mistakes earlier post which I have fully read and am considering a few options. Indeed our situations are indeed very similar, yet most of the feedback was proprietary to his current situation. Like him, I am also in an extremely bad spot, a spot that I no doubt put myself into. However, I cannot live like this anymore, the debt is driving me insane and I am having major difficulty with limiting my impulse purchases. First things, I am a recovering alcoholic few months clean most of my purchases were alcohol, food, and partying. I as well, am resolved to fix this situation and get myself out of the debt Ive buried myself into with time after time bad and dumb decisions. Based upon everyones sincere, honest, and expertise given to Stupid_Mistakes I as well would appreciate any input regarding my situation. My total annual income is 80,000 US including bonus. My take home is 3,200 ,per month not including bonuses, and after loans are deducted. My credit score is 610.My total expenses are 2581 per month. Banana Republic 275750 Min. 35 Cabelas CLUB Visa 3,6293,800 Min. 73, APR 22.15 Capital One 3,7694,000 Min. 114 APR 23.15Chase Southwest 1,955 2,000 Min. 46 APR 16.24Chase Amazon 2,9653,000 Min. 86, APR 22.49Credit One 1,7912,000 Min. 105, APR 24.15Merrick Bank 1,6091,900 Min. 114, APR 22.49Mortgage 880 HeatElectric 115 Cell Phone 115 Car Loan 680 6.50Insurance 118 State Txes Owed 1,200 paying 100 a month,Federal Txes Owed 3,806 Collections 1 538 Total Bills Paid Monthly 2,581 Monthly Net Income 3,200 NA Additl Mthly Income 500 NA Total Income 3,700 Monthly Difference 1,119 401KRoth IRA Portfolio 65,969 NA Loan Amount 401K Home Mortgage Loan Auto Deducted from Paycheck 12,292 13,000 90 4.25Estimated payoff 092530401K Personal Loan Auto Deducted from Paycheck 5,229 14,500 397 4.25Estimated payoff 12052017My thoughts as of now are to either contact a credit counseling service and consolidate my loans into one payment, rather than paying 600 a month on high interest credit cards. Or, Should I start with the biggest debt or the highest APR? How much should I pay? Should I focus on one account and pay minimuminterest on the others?Truck Loan? Stupid balloon payment loan, expensive, affordable at the time I took out a loan? Probably not, another stupid decision on my part. Thoughts? Like Stupid_Mistakes I as well made horrible decisions to take on high interest credit cards stupidly thinking that i would be able to pay it back because of a decent paycheck. Then all of a sudden it just seemed to pile up on me like a bad avalanche, and here I am, totally overwhelmed, broke, and lost on what i should do. Honestly, i dont trust the aforementioned companies or any financial institutions for the most part. This is why I am reaching out to everyone on here. People of Reddit please help me with trying to fix this and build a savings account other than my 401KRoth. Well I am here; I am grateful that i have good health, and grateful for any help anyone can provide. Assistant: I am so sorry for your situation, I was also in a place like this a while ago and know the difficulty of getting out of it, and back on track to a decent lifestyle. Here is what I did to get myself out1 Close the credit card accounts and cut them up.2 Set up a separate checking account and quickly put 1000 into it to use an emergency fund for car repairs, house repairs, and etc. 3 Dont start with the highest APR debt, but the one with the lowest balance. Stop all retirement contributions and use that to pay the debt off. Kill the little one then move up the chain. No debt is the best debt.4 Once you have the debt paid off, set up an additional checking account and quickly put six months of household expenses into it: Rent, Utilities, Insurances, Phone, Cable, etc. This will protect you in case of a down turn of income or worse. 5 Now that you have your debts paid off, and your emergency funds, now you can restart the retirement funds, and max out your contributions. This is what I tell all of my friends when asked the same question. As a former insurance agent and mortgage specialist, Ive seen it work out many time. Good luck to you!Human: Thanks, although I am hesitant to stop all retirement contributions, i currently put in 6 to 401K, 2 to Roth IRA. Employer matches up to 3, id hate to throw that free money away. Maybe dropping my contributions down to 3 until most my debt is manageable. The investment is my retirement future, so you can sense my weariness.  <response>: you put in enough to get the match since it is free money, and stop all other retirement contributions since youll get better returns on it by paying your debt off. 