<prompt> Human: Ok so I know I will probably be tore into for bad life choices, but due to numerous circumstances I have accumulated quite a bit of debt. I never knew what line of work to get into, so school was always my plan to figure life out. Although this may be the case, I have always worked, sometimes multiple jobs, while even opening my own business part of my debt problem, which has been sold. Currently, Im about to graduate in May with my Masters, so I should be acquiring a real job soon. I make decent at my current job, but I have a family to support, and I live in an area with a high cost of living, so minimizing spending isnt really feasible at this point. I have about 68k in student loans, and about 2,500 in personal debt from where I have barely skimmed by the last couple of years. Most of this 2,500 is outstanding, and has severly effected my credit. I already have to pull put a little more in student loans to pay off my last two classes in the spring, but should I pull out extra to pay off this personal debt and hire a credit repair service? I hate to think about paying back student loans, but when I get out into the real world my credit will be too bad to do anything as it currently stands. I just mention a credit repair service because I hired one for 500 after I sold my business and they were able to elimimate a lot off of my record, raising my scores by 60-70 points. Any suggestions would be great. Also I am currently, and hoping to get further in gov work, so I may at some point be able to qualify for some loan forgiveness through my field, but that is not something I can rely on.  <response>: Student loan debt is harder to discharge. Personal debt is not secured. Dont pay people to improve your credit score. 