<prompt> Human: I got a notice in the mail today that the entirety of my tax return has been taken by the federal government to pay for student loan debts, leaving me crippled. I had plans for that money, and no idea that it was going to be taken. I accept that it is my own damn fault that it was taken. At this point, Im not interested in the blame game. I just need to move forward, and stop making all the same mistakes.What little personal finance habits I have Ive formed for myself. My parents were never willing to discuss finances with me, and I frankly have no clue what Im doing. I am signed up on Credit Karma and can view what seems like some important information there, but I dont know what to do with that info.I do not have any credit card debt--its all school loans and medical bills. Im not sure how to go about determining how much of it there is. Ive been running from it all for so long and Ive never made an attempt to keep track of it. I do know its a lot. My credit score is a 504!. Its bad.Im trying to find information about my options. Bankruptcy? Debt consolidation? How do I know whats a scam and whats a good idea? This is my money, and in todays world, thats pretty much my whole future. I dont want to screw it up worse than I already have.Im already working on a budget of what I currently have, to try and determine what I can afford to spend paying stuff off every month, and any suggestions on the best way to keep track of all that is welcome too. Am I missing any important steps?I apologize if this is a little scrambled--I am too, at the moment. Ill be happy to answer any clarifying questions. Thanks in advance, guys.Edit: thanks a ton to everyone who offered their advice and feedback. Out was greatly appreciated in a time if need, and I look forward to taking action and getting moving again tomorrow. Im going to leave this thread now, since the only discussion still carrying on is pretty well irrelevant. Thanks again!  <response>: Its budgeting time!You will need to keep track of your expenses from now on to make sure you dont fall behind again. There are a number of ways you can do this:Mint YNAB spreadsheets envelope and pen and paperGet down into your last months expenses and start figuring out where every penny went. 