<prompt> Human: Im so sorry if this question has been answered countless times. I read the sidebar info and searched the subreddit for the answer, but I didnt find exactly what I was looking for.My credit score is in the mid 500s and I have about 40k in student loan debt and about 15k in credit card debt. Essentially, my life kind of hit a rough patch with a lot of unexpected things going on and the debt from one of my credit cards went to debt collection, the other is about to maybe, and Im a couple payments behind on my student loans.However, the good news is that Im finally back on track and hopefully getting a nursing job within the next month or two fingers crossed at which point, I should be pay to start paying everything down FAST since Ive gotten so good at living frugally.This is my question: if I pay off all my debt in the next 1.5 to 2 years, what will that do for my credit score? How long will it take me to recover from this? Im just kind of at a loss because Id always been very financially responsible until I went back to school and started using credit to pay for a lot of things during that time, assuming that Id be able to start working right out of school. Unfortunately, life happened and now I just want to try to get a realistic picture of how much damage Ive done here and what I can expect going forward. Thanks in advance.Edit: I do have a job, cut out all unnecessary things, etc. Im just not making enough to really stay above water month to month at this point and I definitely am trying to get a FT nursing job ASAP. My car insurance went up because of my credit, I had to spend 800 to get dental work done because I dont have dental insurance, had to spend a few hundred dollars to pay for the NCLEX nursing boards and apply for licensure in my state, etc.  <response>: My credit score is in the mid 500s and I have about 40k in student loan debt and about 15k in credit card debt.Focus on your debt.Your credit score is used when obtaining credit. You dont need to be obtaining more credit. Your credit score is not important right now.Put a plan together to pay off your debt.As negative items age and disappear from your credit report 7 years, and with a new history of on-time payments for your current accounts, your score will improve over time. Focus on paying off your debt and paying your bills on time, and your credit score will improve too. 